Enterprise: The Fourth Reich
by et-spiritus-sancti
Summary: FINISHED! Finally! Archer, Tucker, and T'Pol are trapped on a world they thought could never exist. Rated PG13 for some mild language and violence. Please Review!
1. Part 1

Started: 5-9-02 Finished: Age: 14  
  
  
  
Enterprise  
  
The Fourth Reich  
  
Based on the hit television series, "Enterprise." Also Based on, Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry  
  
  
  
For Grandma, though I never was able to meet you in time, I still received your gift of writing. Also for the countless lives lost not only in the concentration camps, but also to all the troops who died then, and now, for the freedom of all mankind.  
  
This is kinda my first Enterprise story, so forgive me if anything's messed up or something. I changed the spacing so it's very easy to read for anyone who quickly dismissed it for that reason..ummm..enjoy!!!  
  
By the way, from my research of the real Holocaust concentration camps, it was easy to see that it really was a hell on earth. So I'm going to try to treat this delicately, and have chosen not to use everything that I've learned. Many of the things the Nazis did is simply too atrocious to duplicate. Though to make it seem realistic, there are still some intense scenes. I apologize if anyone finds this offensive. A lot of it is a reminder of what the human being is capable of, and how people did get through it. And by the conclusion of my story, it will show only bravery and justice. I promise it will be a happy ending.  
  
God bless us all during this time of war and fury.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Exploring the unknown can go two different ways. It can be very enjoyable and exciting.or very nerve ending and terrifying. It all depends on the person who doing the exploring. In this case, the Enterprise crew has gone up against many interesting and, many dangerous, life forms. From the vicious Andorians to the kind and solemn Xyrillians, the adventures could never end with the crew of the starship Enterprise.  
  
That's what Captain Jonathan Archer was thinking about in his ready room that morning. The universe goes on forever. Thousands of species, thousands of adventures, and a thousand times Archer would ask himself how he was lucky enough to be involved so deeply with the greatest mystery presented to man. Unfortunately, the last little exploration Enterprise had nearly took out both nacelles, but, luckily, only one was damaged. It was caused by an unpleasant encounter with a Klingon Bird of Prey. Though, every encounter that Enterprise has had with Klingons has never been particularly "pleasant." The Klingons had accused Archer of entering their space without authorization. Archer had barely enough time to open his mouth to protest before the Klingons charged their weapons. Anyway, the Enterprise wasn't in exactly pristine condition; repairs were going slowly and they needed more engineers than they had.  
  
A comm signal interrupted Archer's thoughts. Then again, he might not have noticed it if he was thinking any more deeply.  
  
"T'Pol to Archer."  
  
Archer lifted his head that was leaning against the window and walked to the intercom on the wall. "Go ahead, Sub-Commander."  
  
"We're nearing the planet, Captain."  
  
"Acknowledged."  
  
Before Archer left his ready room, he stole one more glance out the window. The small planet that sat there was strikingly similar to Earth. It's grounds were a heavy green and obviously lush with vegetation. It would certainly be a nice place to visit. The Captain walked out of his ready-room and entered the bridge. It wasn't a large bridge, but it was efficient and Archer enjoyed pacing the floor rather than sitting in his command chair. T'Pol glanced up from her console.  
  
"Any life signs, Sub-Commander?"  
  
"The planet is inhabited," The Vulcan said without expression, "but we are unable to contact the surface."  
  
Pre-warp. Or worse...pre-industrial. Archer thought glumly. The last time Enterprise came upon a pre-warp planet, he nearly got killed. But the curiosity of this new planet enthralled the Captain, and his own inquisitiveness pushed him to want to know more about this new discovery that was only one of the millions in the dark blanket of space.  
  
"I'm also detecting at least several different species on the planet."  
  
"So a visit from us might not be that shocking," Archer said more to himself than to anyone else, "Can we get any pictures?"  
  
"Negative, Captain, it is also off-line. And if you are thinking of going down to the surface, I strongly suggest against it. Seeing what happened the last time." T'Pol said.  
  
Archer already knew the Vulcan's thoughts of going down to the surface, but Commander Tucker had made a valid point during their last conversation (or quarrel) about this. Only the Vulcan protocols said that it wasn't wise to visit a pre-industrial species. This didn't apply to Star Fleet. Still, Archer's conscious reminded him of the Akaali and what had happened.  
  
"Captain?" Ensign Hoshi Sato swiveled around in her chair to face Archer.  
  
"Yes, Hoshi?"  
  
"I don't think this planet is completely uncivilized. I'm detecting several communications on the surface," Hoshi paused, "The communication is mostly static but," Hoshi concentrated hard, her earpiece pressed hard to her ear and her eyes widened. "I think I'm actually picking up a radio station." Archer cocked an eyebrow and gave a half smile. Hoshi shook her head. "I lost it," she was, evidently, disappointed, "it was strange though, from what I could get, it didn't sound so alien. The melody was," she searched for the right word, "normal."  
  
They were silent for a moment. "Keep listening, Hoshi." Archer said. This was just the beginning.  
  
***  
  
Ensign Sato sat hunched over in her chair, listening to the strange sounds from her earpiece and trying to comprehend what they meant. But she was lucky if she could make out a few words from the static interference. It was frustrating, not being able to get through. Hoshi was eager to try her hand at a new language. What excited her the most about their mission was this rare opportunity to study strange new languages and attempt to interpret them. It had taken a while for her to find her "space legs," but Hoshi felt she was really becoming accustomed to space and all its secrets. It wasn't as overwhelming as it used to be.  
  
Suddenly, Hoshi caught a few words from the annoying static. It wasn't exactly clear, but it sounded like, "Dear letze zoog."  
  
"No, that can't be right." Hoshi said out loud, but to herself.  
  
"What's that, Hoshi?" Hoshi jumped in her seat and realized that she'd spoken louder than she thought. Captain Archer glanced over quizzically at the Ensign.  
  
"It's this communication I picked up, Sir. It sounds like.like German." Hoshi tapped a few buttons and put it on the speaker.  
  
A gruff voice filled the bridge. "Der letze Zug. Zuallerletze. Der letze Zug." Hoshi shook her head as she listened. "German wasn't my best language, but I'm pretty sure he's saying something like, 'the last train.' "  
  
Archer listened, intrigued. Lieutenant Reed, T'Pol and just about everyone else on the bridge were also very interested.  
  
"I don't understand it," Ensign Mayweather said as he gazed at the planet on the view screen, "how is that even possible?"  
  
Archer stood from his chair; brow furrowed, and listened to the words.  
  
"That settles it," Archer said calmly, "we have to go down there."  
  
T'Pol was there to disagree, as always. "Captain, I-"  
  
"I know, Sub-Commander. But we can't let one incident ruin this kind of opportunity."  
  
Hoshi stifled a smile. It was probably immature, but Hoshi couldn't help but find a small twinge of satisfaction when T'Pol didn't get her way.  
  
***  
  
"So, Trip, what do you say." Archer looked up, arms crossed against his chest. Commander Tucker walked down the narrow steps tapping something into a padd he held firmly in his hand.  
  
Tucker sighed. "The ship isn't in great condition, Captain. As much as I want to go down there, I'm not sure this ship can spare another engineer," Tucker said glumly, "I've already got two engineers out in sickbay from the battle. Doctor Phlox says they won't be up and working for another day." Commander Tucker seemed especially annoyed with this problem.  
  
Archer searched for a way around this. Enterprise wasn't in immediate danger. There wasn't some alien ship following them or a certain mission that needed instantaneous completion. But if trouble did arise while on this new planet, the ship was required to be in flawless condition.or at least nearly flawless. Archer then realized how selfish he was being. The ship was always the first priority. No, the crew was. And Commander Tucker hadn't had a decent break in weeks.  
  
Tucker sighed again seeing his captain's dissatisfied gaze. "Alright Captain, maybe I can get away from engineering for a couple of hours, but I don't think I can be away any longer than that-"  
  
"Great, Trip. I'll meet you in the docking bay in an hour." Pleased, Archer left engineering ***  
  
Colonel Schneider leaned back in his office chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. The two prisoners before him were less than presentable. They were both young men, maybe in their early twenties. They were very similar in appearance, obviously brothers. But only Schneider would be able to determine this. Any other inexperienced officer would have trouble seeing the prisoners' true exterior.  
  
One of the men had a large, deep gash above his right eyebrow. The eye below that was swollen shut. Several bruises from multiple beatings were visible on his cheeks and forehead. He was hunched over and had some trouble standing. The man held his right hand close to his chest. It was wrapped in filthy scraps of clothing and bleeding terribly. Schneider asked the man's name. He didn't reply, at first, until a persuading punch from a guard caused him to speak, after he recovered from the pain that is. He revealed that his name was Kion. Satisfied, Schneider turned his attention to the brother. He wasn't as badly mauled as Kion, but that would change, in time. The most serious damage he seemed to have taken was a rather critical infection that surrounded the bottom of his neck where something has eaten away at the flesh. Schneider asked the young man the same question he asked Kion. The brother stared, puzzled. Kion quickly came to the rescue before his brother would be beaten.  
  
"He doesn't know how to speak your language, Sir," Kion said in German, "He knows only Karthan and English." Schneider narrowed his eyes and tilted his chin up. He gave a frustrated sigh. Then the Colonel spoke, in English.  
  
"You, boy, what is your name?" Schneider only knew English because it was required. It was more of an irritation than anything.  
  
The brother swallowed hard and wouldn't make eye contact with the Colonel. He spoke in barely a whisper, "Nigath."  
  
Schneider saw immediately that this boy was sensitive and would be easy to interrogate. He would also be a joy for the soldiers to terminate.  
  
"How did you and your brother escape, Nigath?" Schneider glowered at the boy to make him even more frightened. Nigath's hands began to shake a little. He's scared out of mind! Schneider thought gleefully.  
  
"You'll have to excuse my brother, Sir," Kion said shamefully, "He's very insecure. I'll tell you what happened." This was going great. Nigath was too afraid to even look at the  
  
Colonel, and Kion would do and say anything to protect his obviously little brother. It was most likely the reason why Kion was so much more battered, probably protecting baby brother all the time. How noble. Schneider thought smugly.  
  
Kion continued with his confession. He explained how he was able to get past the guards and how he worked on a hole in a part of the wire fence. Schneider saw that none of what the boys did was all that brilliant. They should have realized that beyond the camp was a massive, dense jungle. This jungle was home to creatures that half dead prisoners were no match for. It was just as life threatening as being in the camp, it was a naïve plan. And.it was just plain stupid. After the confession, Colonel Schneider ordered the men to be executed. Schneider saw the expressions on their faces and thought that they were priceless.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Sub-Commander T'Pol walked briskly into the docking bay. Captain Archer and Commander Tucker were already there, waiting patiently. T'Pol crossed her hands behind her back and stood straight.  
  
"Well, Sub-Commander, I think that's the first time you've ever been late." Tucker said. T'Pol ignored the human emotion of "mockery."  
  
"I had important work to be completed first. I do apologize if I kept you waiting for too long."  
  
"No, Sub-Commander, not long at all." Archer said. Ensign Sato suddenly entered the docking bay. She stood next to T'Pol.  
  
"Ensign, I don't remember assigning you to this mission." Archer said.  
  
"I know Sir, but," She paused for a moment, "I also know that German is in the UT, but we're not sure how many other languages people may speak down there. Would you be interested in having a translator come along?"  
  
T'Pol expected this from the Ensign. The girl was eager and inexperienced. If T'Pol had any say of whom the crew consisted of, she would have chosen better and more knowledgeable officers. No doubt, the language skills Ms. Sato had were unmatched, but her experience dealing with alien cultures and space traveling was not very extensive. Even so, she'd proven herself to be capable.  
  
"Well, Hoshi, I'd already thought about that, and considered it," Archer said, "But, as you know, the ship isn't in great condition," T'Pol could almost sense the disappointment emitting from the ensign, "And I'm sure that there's something you can do to help out."  
  
"Yeah, and besides," Tucker jumped in, "I'm only gonna be down there for a little bit. When I come back up, you can take my place down there." Sato seemed to accept this and nodded her head. Then she exited the docking bay. T'Pol was also satisfied with the Captain's decision. It was logically and smoothly planned.  
  
A few minutes later, they were in the shuttle and making their way to the Earth-like planet below.  
  
***  
  
Colonel Schneider had been satisfied with the execution. The prisoners begged. Kion was whispering prayers and Nigath had cried. It was quite a spectacle. Schneider now sat in his office, feet resting on the desk and hands crossed under his head. It was a good day. Schneider had his favorite breakfast, his soldiers had come back from winning yet another battle, and two pathetic prisoners were prosecuted and eliminated. It was a good day. He thought again. A knock sounded at the door.  
  
"Come in." He said in his native tongue.  
  
The door opened to reveal a young, slender, oriental woman. Her long, straight black hair was tied in a tress behind her back. She was dressed in black Japanese styling. Her eyes were dark and intimidating. As she closed the door, the air seemed to become colder and the Colonel took his feet off the desk.  
  
Schneider stood. "Commander Lee, what a pleasant surprise."  
  
The woman was expressionless and her jaw was set tight. She walked a little closer to the desk, and then stood perfectly still.  
  
"And what can I do for you this fine day?" Schneider asked happily.  
  
When Lee spoke, her tone was unnerving, cold, and angry. "Those prisoners you executed today," Her lips tightened, "They were mine."  
  
Schneider couldn't help but chuckle. The woman has spirit, but no respect. Every prisoner in this camp belonged to the Colonel. Some were distributed into different colonies commanded by officers like Cmdr. Lee. But all in all, they were the Colonel's. Schneider walked around the desk and stood face to face with Lee. The Commander remained standing straight and was unruffled. The Colonel found this intriguing.  
  
"Commander, you do know the consequences for insubordination?" The expression Lee gave might have been a smirk, but Schneider wasn't sure.  
  
"Unlike everyone else in this camp, Colonel," Lee said bravely, "I am not afraid of you."  
  
Schneider could understand this. Commander Lee had happened to be the daughter of an infamous man, General Chong Lee. The officer was untouchable and feared by many-including the Colonel. And when the General had been discovered mysteriously dead in his bedroom, the Colonel was made to be in control. The death was called mysterious because there was no sign of struggle, no weapons used. A complete autopsy was ordered on the General and they'd discovered that he was in perfect condition before he died. But there were no injuries; his heart just.stopped. The death was then found inconclusive. This had happened about ten years ago, when Cmdr. Lee was only a teenager. But she'd shown her abilities of combat and leadership to be unsurpassed even at such a young age. Though the Colonel obviously outranked her, Schneider wouldn't give a second thought to double-crossing Lee.for his own safety.  
  
"Commander, I understand your reason for being angry. But what you must understand is that all of the prisoners here belong to me and I can do away with them however I wish-"  
  
"By consulting me first, Colonel."  
  
"You will keep in order-" Before Schneider could finish his protest Lee grabbed his arm with lightning fast speed and twisted it around his back. Schneider didn't even have time to react to the situation. Lee now stood behind the Colonel, his arm still tightly twisted. Schneider clenched his teeth and hissed in pain.  
  
Lee released an icy grin. "The next time you pull that kind of stunt, I'll cut your tongue out and throw you into a Catalian pit. Remember what I am capable of, Colonel," She turned the arm tighter and Schneider uncontrollably shook with pain, "And choose your words wisely next time." With that, Lee practically threw the Colonel in his chair and walked briskly out the door, slamming it behind her. The guards stared at Lee tentatively as the Commander made her way down the massive hall lit by torches and covered with tapestries displaying the renowned swastika.  
  
***  
  
"What's the air like down there?" Archer asked as he made some adjustments at the helm.  
  
"It appears breathable, Captain," T'Pol said, "but I'd like to test it again once we get to the surface."  
  
"Hey, Trip. Are you picking up any communications?" Commander Tucker nodded.  
  
"Lots of them. Mostly all in German."  
  
"Mostly?"  
  
"I'm pickin' up something else. It doesn't sound like anything related to a Human language though."  
  
Archer sighed and watched the planet as it drew nearer with every passing second. It was so much like Earth, too much like Earth; it was daunting.  
  
For a moment, Archer could recall a memory from his childhood. San Francisco Middle School. History class. Miss Schumann's history class. Archer smirked. He remembered having a crush on her. She was tall, slim, beautiful, and very young. She'd just graduated from college and starting teaching that year. She had long, red curls that fell just below her shoulders. She had bright, intelligent green eyes, and a smile that could melt any twelve-year-old boy's heart. Everyone liked her, the boys mostly. Putting aside his feelings of the teacher, Archer tried to remember the couple of classes they had about the Holocaust during World War Two. Archer could recall the photographs; the terrible photographs of the Jews in the concentration and "extermination" camps. The worst seemed to be in a camp called Auschwitz, in Poland, that had been taken over by the Nazis. Archer remembered things about gas chambers, Zahlappell (whatever that meant), the SS, and the infamous, Adolf Hitler. It was definitely not one of the peaks of mankind.  
  
Archer wasn't sure why he was thinking about this. Maybe because whenever he thought about Germany or anything German, those thoughts of what they did so many years ago stuck with him. It was somewhat immature. Germany was just like any other country now. The Holocaust has been over for more than two hundred years. Most never even thought about it anymore. Which made Archer even more curious as to why German was being spoken on a planet so many light-years away from Earth.  
  
"Something wrong, Captain?" T'Pol appeared to had noticed that Archer was in deep thought. Archer wasn't sure if T'Pol's tone of voice was of concern or his lack of attention to the helm. He didn't really want to know.  
  
Archer straightened in his seat. "Nothing's wrong." Archer made more adjustments at the helm as the planet neared.  
  
"We're entering the planet's atmosphere. Get ready for a little turbulence." Trip said. Barely a few seconds after Trip made his report, the shuttle began to rock. The three officers were unflustered by the sometimes-violent shakes. The shuttle shook some more, then somewhat steadied.  
  
The shuttle flew through white cottony clouds that left a soft mist of water on the windows. The sky was a deep blue, a color that the Captain hadn't seen since being in San Francisco. Archer led himself away from the enticing beauty of the sky. Once the shuttle passed through the clouds, a thick jungle that spread for miles came into view. From where Archer could see, no life forms or any form of civilization was in sight.  
  
"T'Pol,"  
  
"Yes, Captain?"  
  
"Are you detecting any life forms?" The Vulcan tapped a few buttons. Her eyes moved as fast as her fingers on the console.  
  
"There are many life forms. Most of them are about twelve and a half kilometers away."  
  
"And the others?"  
  
"I'm also detecting several life signs within a one kilometer radius of our landing site."  
  
"How many?"  
  
"Seventeen."  
  
"I guess we'll get an early greeting." Tucker said.  
  
The Captain started to descend the shuttle to the landing site. It was more of a very small field with tall grass instead of the large trees, which would have made it impossible to land here. Archer glanced around the jungle floor as the shuttle finished it's landing, but no one was in sight.  
  
"Set your weapons to stun and keep them close." Archer said. As much as he didn't want to start a war, Archer wasn't sure how these people would react to the away team's visit. He was hoping it would be peaceful.  
  
***  
  
Commander Tucker took the Captain's advice and double-checked his weapon. The last thing he wanted was to be surrounded by angry natives without the proper controls set on his phaser. Tucker glimpsed up at the Captain and found him surveying the area. Tucker sighed. Captain Archer seemed a bit troubled ever since they left Enterprise. Strange though, when Archer had insisted that he come with them on the away mission, he was excited and ready to go down there. But now, Tucker was almost positive that the Captain wouldn't mind going back up. Another thing that nagged at the Chief Engineer was the fact that he really didn't need to be down here. He would have been a lot more helpful back on Enterprise. If anything, Lieutenant Reed would've been a proper choice for this mission. Or even Hoshi.  
  
After what felt like minuets, though probably only a few seconds, there was a small yet satisfying jolt of the shuttle finally touching the surface.  
  
"The air is breathable, Captain." T'Pol said reading from her console. The Captain nodded in acknowledgment.  
  
Tucker glanced over and caught a sight of T'Pol also checking her phaser. Tucker held back a smile. To think that a Vulcan might mess up was somewhat humorous. After a little comical relief for himself, Tucker unlatched the door of the shuttle and, with T'Pol and the Captain behind him, climbed out into the hot, humid, and vast jungle.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
The humanoids clambered out of their strange plane and looked to be blinded by the sun, at first. Cmdr. Lee knew all her officers, waiting for her signal, were watching her. She adjusted the shoulder strap of her automatic rifle and then put her hand out flat to tell her officers to sit tight. Lee wanted to see what these people would do.  
  
There looked to be two males and a female. Lee wondered for only a second if the female was a prisoner, but then realized she wasn't since she had a weapon; an odd weapon at that. It looked like a child's toy. But Lee wasn't about to underestimate it. The most harmless appearing things had too many times turned out to be lethal.  
  
The strangers were not her species. They didn't have the small patch of dark red mottled skin on either side of the neck or, from where Lee could see, their exotic bright yellow or orange eyes. The two males appeared to be of the same species, and so did the female, except for a few subtle differences that were an indication that she was not of the same. Her ears came to a sharp point (Lee would call her Pointy) and her eyebrows were also shaped more evenly than the others. Her face held no expression or feeling. Sad. Lee thought, that means she probably wouldn't scream when she dies. The males talked to each other in a language that was all too familiar to Lee. Along with mastering German, Lee had also learned the complexities of English and spoke and understood it well. At the moment, the males made remarks about the weather. Pointy held some sort of gadget in her hands and was moving it back forth, occasionally stopping at a certain point. Pointy suddenly stopped and was facing in the direction that Lee was hiding.  
  
Could that gadget possibly detect my position? Lee thought grimly. Pointy looked up and was practically staring at Lee. But it would be impossible for this stranger to see her. Lee was perfectly hidden in the shrubs where the tree line started. Lee was not going to underestimate Pointy either. This woman obviously had great abilities and could detect even the best-hidden people. Lee trembled and could almost feel the anxiousness of her officers. Okay, let's get 'em.  
  
***  
  
Archer put a shielding hand above his eyes. The sun was very hot and bright. Endless sounds of insects and animals became increasingly annoying. Within seconds, Archer could feel sweat on his brow, and he hadn't even done anything. Archer believed that this was what it was like to be in the Amazon. Archer made a mental note to himself to never visit it.  
  
"It's sure a hot climate." Trip said without enthusiasm.  
  
"Yeah. You could probably fry an egg on the ground." Archer said it to lighten the mood. It seemed to work since Trip smirked.  
  
T'Pol took out her scanner to search for the nearest life signs. T'Pol stopped at one point and took her eyes away from the scanner. She didn't move. Only her eyes shifted slightly to look at another area. "I believe we have company, Captain." Before she could finish her statement, a barricade of humanoids came from nowhere and surrounded them, weapons pointed. Archer put his hands up. Trip did as well. T'Pol still held her scanner and didn't move. The soldiers were gruff and their eyes gleamed. A couple of them came up and hastily took Archer's, Trip's and T'Pol's weapons away.  
  
One of the men who wore a different uniform, a darker one, stepped up to T'Pol and glowered down at her. He grabbed the scanner from T'Pol's hands and turned it around poked at it and was down right flabbergasted by it.  
  
"Was fur eine Maschine ist das?" T'Pol cocked an eyebrow.  
  
"He wants to know what kind of machine it is." Tucker said his hands still raised above his head.  
  
Archer glanced over at his chief engineer. "You understand German?"  
  
"My father made me take it in high school."  
  
"Ruhe!" One of the soldiers growled. Trip clapped his mouth shut. The guard that held the scanner asked T'Pol the question again.  
  
T'Pol thought for only a moment. "It gives me the ability to see where life forms and various other substances are."  
  
The guard apparently didn't understand and he took out his pistol and pointed it at T'Pol's head. T'Pol didn't react; she only stood staring up at the officer. Archer, however, on impulse, stepped forward. Immediately, the officer threw the scanner behind his back and took T'Pol by her arm and swung her around facing Archer, with the barrel of the gun resting above her ear.  
  
"Take another step and die Fraulein dies!"  
  
Calmly, T'Pol said, "I suggest you step back, Captain." Archer did, but not before seeing the officer curl his finger around the trigger.  
  
"Stop!"  
  
All the soldiers suddenly straightened. The voice belonged to a woman who emerged from the jungle. She had an automatic rifle that dangled loosely from the shoulder strap. She was dressed all in black with her long black hair that was allowed to flow to her waist. She appeared to be the same species, as the soldiers, except she was oriental, and she had no mercy in her eyes. The officer holding T'Pol hostage grit his teeth and rolled his eyes, but didn't turn around to face the woman. Even though the woman was behind the officer, she seemed to have sensed his immature behavior and round-housed him in the neck. The officer's eyes rolled back into his head and the gun fell from his hands as he tumbled to the jungle floor. Archer felt his eyebrows go up and now knew why this woman was given so much respect from the other soldiers. T'Pol turned around cautiously and knelt down to feel for the man's pulse. Standing back up and shaking her head lightly was the indication that this man was dead. Archer heard Trip make a low whistle. It was probably best not to irritate this woman.  
  
"What are your names?" The woman had a Japanese accent and she sounded like she ordered the answer instead of asking for it.  
  
Archer moved forward only a small step, but even that made the soldiers turn their heads quickly and ready their weapons. Archer moved back to where he was.  
  
"My name is Captain Jonathon Archer. This is my Chief Engineer, Commander Charles Tucker, and my Science Officer, Sub-Commander T'Pol."  
  
The woman started to pace. "Do you have any idea where you've landed your plane, Captain?"  
  
"Actually," Trip said, "it's a shuttle pod." The look the woman gave Tucker could have hardened a melting micro ligature. Archer gave Tucker a warning glance.  
  
"Well, Miss."  
  
"Lee. Commander Lee."  
  
"Well, Commander, we," Archer tried to find a way around the question, he had to remember that this was a pre-warp capable species, "we got lost." It was lame, but it was the only thing Archer could think of. Commander Lee stopped pacing and stood next to the fallen officer, hands behind her back.  
  
"So," Archer said, "could you tell us where we are exactly?" Lee sighed and clenched her teeth. "I am not at liberty to give that information. But I will tell you that you are now the property of Colonel Schneider and his concentration camp."  
  
"Now, wait a minute-" Trip started to say.  
  
She raised her voice. "You will spend the rest of your lives here and if you dare to escape, you will be at the mercy of the jungle which I will remind you now, is a very dangerous place. And if we catch you trying to escape, you will most likely be sentenced to a slow and painful death. Thank you very much for your cooperation, and remain silent for the journey back to the encampment." Archer had to shake his head to believe what he was hearing. Concentration camp? Property? Death? Archer felt his arm being pulled harshly.  
  
"Search them for any more weapons or equipment then load them in the truck with the others! A few of you stay behind and search the plane," Lee was about to leave when she turned to Trip, "Or, 'shuttle pod.' " With that Lee disappeared into the jungle. The soldier took Archer's communicator and threw it in the bushes behind him. Then he put the automatic rifle to his back, and nudged him harshly with it.  
  
"Los! Jetzt!" The soldier growled.  
  
"He wants you to get going, Captain." Trip said as his communicator was pulled from him and smashed under the guard's foot. T'Pol's communicator suffered the same fate. Archer walked reluctantly towards the trees; gun still pointed at his back, where many of the other officers followed Lee. Archer turned his head quick enough to see some of the officers climbing through the hatch to the shuttle and moseying around. The Captain could hear Tucker yelling at the officers what not to touch. Archer doubted that the officers cared. They walked for about ten minutes until they came to a road. The Captain didn't remember seeing it when they were landing the shuttle.  
  
An army truck with a large canvas used as the roof and three armed officers were there waiting for them. But what Archer saw next he couldn't believe. Standing next to the truck were two, fully-grown, ferocious German Shepherds that, as soon as they caught sight of Archer and others, barked vigorously, tugging hard at their leashes.  
  
"Captain?"  
  
"Yeah, Trip?"  
  
".Are those what I think they are?"  
  
"Afraid so."  
  
T'Pol stood unflustered. "Enlighten me, Commander."  
  
Trip glanced over at T'Pol. "You never saw those on Earth?"  
  
"I rarely left the compound."  
  
Trip chuckled, "Let me guess, the smell?"  
  
"Among other things, Commander," Trip rolled his eyes, "But I must say some of the animal's traits look to be related to your canine, Captain."  
  
"They're called German Shepherds. I wouldn't get too close to them."  
  
"Animals do not frighten me, Captain."  
  
"It's not you being scared of them that worries me." The dogs barred their teeth and released a deep growl from its throat.  
  
The officers "escorting" Archer and the others pushed them towards the army truck. One of the officers untied the rope that was holding the two flaps of the canvas on the back of the truck. Archer walked around the dogs tentatively. Archer looked up into the truck. There were at least twenty other prisoners there. All wide-eyed, and huddled in corners. Some shielded the sun with a hand while others tolerated it and stared at the floor. Only half of them have the curiosity to glance up and see who had joined them.  
  
"Los! In der Lastauto! Los!"  
  
Archer hesitates for only a moment, and then climbed into the truck. The floor was old and cracked and probably wouldn't be able to support too many more people. T'Pol was pushed hard into the truck and almost knocked Archer and Trip down. T'Pol steadied herself immediately and sat down. Two officers accompanied the prisoners with the rifles by their sides. They gave notice to every movement, and every sound made. Archer sighed. How had they gotten so mixed up in this?  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Commander Tucker twiddled with a small fragment of wood. He was anxious and had to do something with his hands. He glimpsed over to his right and saw the Captain rubbing his temple with his hand and staring at the floor. He was obviously thinking hard and probably shouldn't be disturbed. Trip looked over to his left to see what T'Pol was doing, and it wasn't much. She sat there with her knees drawn to her chest, like a child. She also stared at the floor, no doubt thinking up some kind of escape plan. And they were going to get out of here. They'd simply have a little chat with whoever that Colonel Schneider was and get this whole thing settled before anyone got hurt. But, somehow, it didn't feel like that was bound to happen.  
  
Instead of sulking about what the future might hold, Trip glanced around the small room studying the other prisoners. All of them looked to not have had a decent meal in days and were emaciated. Most of them didn't have expression and didn't seem alive. Their eyes held no feeling whatsoever, like empty sockets that never attained the vibrancy of "puppy eyes" or baby blues. A woman, maybe in her late twenties picked up her head and gawked at the Chief Engineer. Trip realized what he must look like; still clean-shaven, clothing unsoiled, and most of his dignity still intact, while this woman had her long, brown hair in tangles, several holes in her clothing, mud crusted on her face, and red bloodshot eyes from crying. Trip had to look away. After a few moments, Trip heard a soft sobbing and half expected it to be coming from the woman, but it was instead from a girl, sitting directly across from Trip, next to her father, his arm around her. She looked to be around fifteen or so. She had a large, fresh whiplash streaked across her cheek. Small tears ran past the wound; the girl grimaced at the discomfort of the tears in the abrasion.  
  
"It's going to be alright, mein Liebling." The father said tenderly.  
  
Even though the words were meant for comfort, the girl didn't believe them and cried on. The father's face saddened and he caught Trip's gaze.  
  
"You new?" He asked.  
  
Trip nodded. "Yeah."  
  
"I don't recognize your species. What part of the planet are you from?"  
  
Trip thought quickly. "Uh, well, we're not from anywhere near here. We, um, do a lot of exploring. There isn't really a place we call home."  
  
The man nodded, not exactly believing him, but accepted it anyway.  
  
"My name is Barik. This is my daughter, Vian." Vian looked up but didn't say anything.  
  
"I'm Commander Char-uh, Trip."  
  
By this time, Captain Archer and T'Pol had come out of their thinking shells and took an interest in the conversation.  
  
"I'm Jon and this is T'Pol."  
  
The Captain extended his hand to be shaken. Barik stared at the hand for only a second then put out his own. There, the handshake was introduced. Barik then put out his hand for T'Pol to shake. T'Pol stayed motionless.  
  
"Uh, you'll have to excuse T'Pol," Archer said, "Her species isn't fond of.contact."  
  
Barik's brow furrowed. "I've always wondered how many different species live on this planet."  
  
"Barik, we're strangers here, could you tell us what this is all about?"  
  
"You weren't aware of the war?"  
  
".No."  
  
"Strange," Barik murmured, "it's been going on for over two hundred years."  
  
"What's being fought over?"  
  
Barik grunted. "More like being fought for. Power, dignity, this whole damn planet. You name it, they want it."  
  
"They?"  
  
Barik lowered his voice and nodded his head towards the guards. "The Powers That Be." For the first time, Trip noticed the small, red patches on the left arm of both guards with an all-too-familiar symbol on it. "You see that, Captain?" Archer followed the engineer's gaze and narrowed his eyes, then swallowed hard. "The swastika." Trip's blood turned cold and an icy streak ran down his spine.  
  
***  
  
"Are they still not responding?"  
  
Ensign Sato pushed a few buttons on her console. She paused, waited for a response, and then shook her head.  
  
"Commander Tucker's and T'Pol's communicators are completely inactive, Lieutenant."  
  
"And the Captain's?" The British man asked impatiently.  
  
Hoshi shook her head. "He's just not responding."  
  
Lt. Reed ran a hand through his brown hair and then rested his hands on his hips. After standing there for about five seconds, Reed turned to where T'Pol's station was. Now there was an itchy, nervous crewman, by the name of Rayburn, sitting there tapping his fingers.  
  
"Can you get any readings on their life-signs?"  
  
Rayburn jumped and then swiveled around looking for the answers the Lieutenant needed. Finally, he found them.  
  
"Well, Sir, there are lots of.um.different life forms down there, and it'd be real hard to, well, um.what's the word.pinpoint, there we go, their exact, um, po-position." You'd of thought the man had been asked the meaning of life. Reed shook his head slightly and closed his eyes. Crewman Rayburn was a steward. But as nervous, fidgety, and downright annoying Rayburn was, he was the only other person on board, who wasn't busy fixing Enterprise up, who had some training as a science officer to fill in for T'Pol. "Hoshi, are you sure you can't contact the surface?" "There are communications down there, but all are too primitive to put it through with ours." Lieutenant Reed sighed. Nothing was going right. The ship was in poor shape, the Captain, Science Officer and Chief Engineer was missing, and Reed had a stuttering misfit as his science officer.  
  
  
  
***  
  
The truck bounced furiously along the dirt road. Archer suspected there were many potholes considering all the dips the truck made.  
  
Archer stole a glance at the guards. They held their weapons close and peered at everyone in the truck. Archer shook his head. It was too completely impossible that these officers were Nazis. Completely impossible.  
  
"It's not entirely impossible." T'Pol said, as if reading Archer's thoughts.  
  
"How is that?"  
  
"During the time of your Second World War, any vessel could've have entered Earth's atmosphere and saw what was happening. Seeing how these people's emotions obtain the best of them, perhaps they adopted the 'Nazi' customs."  
  
"This planet is pre-warp, Sub-Commander."  
  
"Or perhaps it isn't."  
  
Archer glanced over at the Vulcan.  
  
"What are you getting at?"  
  
"This species is obviously volatile and illogical. When they saw our shuttle pod, you'd have thought they'd taken us as aliens and seeing how recklessly emotional they are, they should have killed us. But they didn't. Instead they take us with them and make us prisoners like the others."  
  
Tucker rested his chin on fist. "So all that explains this.Fourth Reich."  
  
"You should know, Captain," T'Pol continued, "that bigotry comes in many forms. Here, they clearly believe that they are superior to everyone and everything else. Unlike the Nazis who only believed that the Jewish people were inferior to them and that they were controlling the economy, which was, of course, incorrect."  
  
Archer crossed his arms. "How come you know so much about the Nazis? From what I've observed, you've never taken much of an interest in Earth history."  
  
"I don't have any interest in it, I've only heard stories from Crewman Rayburn of some of his ancestors who were Holocaust survivors."  
  
Archer thought about the prospect of what T'Pol said. Her theory may well be true. And if these people really did adopt the Nazi "customs," Archer and his officers had a lot to worry about. Including the fact that there was no way to contact Enterprise.  
  
They'd all been riding for about fifteen minutes when Archer heard shouting outside the truck. The guards were instantly alert, their weapons drawn. The truck suddenly came to a halt.  
  
"Ein Hinterhalt! Hinterhalt!"  
  
Archer turned to Tucker. "What are they saying?"  
  
"An ambush." Tucker said, hardly paying attention to the Captain.  
  
The guards untied the rope of the back and pulled away the two flaps. From where Archer could see, it was chaos. There were men dressed in pedestrian clothing, but with rifles and automatic weaponry. One of the guards in the truck got behind his comrade and retrieved a sniper gun from his sack. He then got low on his stomach and took aim at some of the strange warriors in the brush, picking them off one by one. It was quite a spectacle. The Nazi officers were going nuts. They were all completely taken by surprise. The echo of automatic gunfire rang out in the jungle.  
  
Rat-tat-tat-tat.  
  
Rat-tat-tat-tat.  
  
Barik immediately took Vian to a far corner of the truck to avoid any of the gunfire. Archer and the others did the same. Archer could smell the gunpowder and it stung his eyes. He could hear several prisoners coughing and choking. The officers outside the truck were screaming orders out to their comrades. The nightmare seemed to last forever. Bullets. Screams. Death. Archer closed his eyes, as though if he did this, the whole world would quiet and be still. But the skirmish did not yield its destructive fury and the endless screams continued. Continued forever.  
  
***  
  
T'Pol had a sense that something of this nature would happen. Where there are enemies, there is always an ally. And these primitives were obviously the allies. Though they did not have as much firepower, or manpower, as they needed to defeat the soldiers. The sniper in the truck was eventually shot down, along with his comrade. T'Pol did not look to see where they were shot or if they were still alive. At the moment, T'Pol and her fellow officer's lives were the priority.  
  
Suddenly, three of the primitives jumped into the back of the truck. One stood guard by the exit. There was one ally with his shoulder-length hair tied in a loose ponytail. He crouched down and wiped sweat from his brow.  
  
"My people listen to me. We're going to get you all out of here and into our camp where there is food, shelter, and medical supplies for anyone who needs it." A blast from outside shook the ground. The man lowered his head for only a second then continued.  
  
"As you probably realize, the battle is still raging. We're trying to get someone to the wheel of this truck and get us to a safe place where we can travel by foot to my camp." The man finally noticed the T'Pol, Archer and Tucker.  
  
His forehead furrowed. "Who are you?"  
  
Archer replied. "I'm Captain Archer, this is Sub-Commander T'Pol and Commander Tucker. I'm afraid we kind of fell right into this."  
  
"My name is Tobis. What is your species," He lowered his voice so only the Starfleet officers and T'Pol could hear, "What planet are you from?"  
  
Archer was immediately taken aback with surprise. T'Pol looked over to her Captain with a face that said, "My suspicions were correct."  
  
Archer also lowered his voice. "T'Pol here is from a planet called Vulcan," Archer pointed to himself then Tucker, "We're from a planet called Earth."  
  
Tobis's eyes widened and he gasped. "Earth?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Truly?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Tobis all of a sudden became angry. "You people are what started this," Tobis had no intention of lowering his voice anymore, "All we've had to fight for, trying to keep these people alive," Tobis pointed angrily at Archer, "all because of you!" The Captain put his hands up in defense.  
  
"What happened two hundred years ago was a mistake, a mistake that was caused by an independent clan. But they were fought against and were taken down. Nothing of that sort has or ever will happen again, I assure you!"  
  
"I don't care about what happens on your planet! It's the people here that concern me."  
  
"Perhaps," T'Pol said, "we could help you. If the Humans were able to defeat the Nazis once, don't you believe that it can be done again?"  
  
"T'Pol?" Archer said.  
  
"I know what I'm doing, Captain," T'Pol turned to Tobis, "We could give you the strategies to help defeat them. All we would need to do is contact our ship and download the information."  
  
Tobis was obviously still angry, but he was warming up to the idea. But before Tobis could agree to the plan, bullets streamed in the truck hitting Tobis point-blank in the head. T'Pol felt herself being pushed down flat to the floor. At first, T'Pol though it was the Captain pushing her down. But the pressure stayed on her back and T'Pol turned her head to get a glimpse at what was holding her down. Tobis stared blankly into her eyes, blood trickling down his face. His mouth open, frozen in a scream he was never able to release. T'Pol gasped and tried to push him off before another wave of bullets entered the truck. T'Pol heard screams from inside and saw from the corner of her eye, another body fall to the floor. After several minutes, the gunfire ceased.  
  
The noise from outside also quieted, which arose one question.who had won?  
  
Chapter 5  
  
Archer wasn't sure if the silence was real. It was dark.Maybe he was dead. Archer tested this theory by trying to move his foot. It functioned with ease. So did the rest of his limbs. Archer opened his eyes and surveyed the room. Many people were lying on the floor in awkward positions. Archer quickly made sure neither of them were his officers. They weren't. Archer took a deep breath. There was movement in the far corner.  
  
"Uhhhh." Tucker groaned and pushed himself off the floor, rubbing his head.  
  
"Trip?" Archer half crawled, half stumbled over to his friend. Tucker waved a hand at him.  
  
"Just," he coughed, "just let me sleep a few more minutes. "  
  
"Trip, snap out of it."  
  
Tucker looked up at his Captain with dazed eyes. He seemed puzzled to see Archer.  
  
"Cap'n, what happened?"  
  
"I think your head was knocked into the wall." Archer said as he helped Tucker into a sitting position.  
  
Tucker leaned his back against the wall. "Well, that's not good."  
  
"You'll be fine."  
  
"Captain?" A voice from the other side, a small stern voice. Archer turned and saw T'Pol on the floor. Archer crawled over to his Science Officer. There was a figure that was laid limp on her back. Archer recognized it to be Tobis. The Captain gingerly took the body off of T'Pol.  
  
"He fell onto me." The Vulcan said as she got to her knees immediately. Eventually, some other prisoners came to, including Barik and his daughter. They had sought shelter from the steady flow of gunfire by covering themselves with the more unfortunate prisoners.  
  
"Do you know who won?" Tucker said as he rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
Before Archer could answer, the flaps of the exit were pulled aside from the outside. Three Nazi soldiers had their weapons trained on the prisoners.  
  
"I guess that answers my question." Tucker said, and he put his hands up.  
  
"Ruhe! Sich setzen! Sit down!"  
  
Two of the soldiers clambered into the truck. One was bleeding heavily from his shoulder. Within minutes, the truck was moving again, bumping along the dirt road to their dreaded destination.  
  
***  
  
Another fifteen minutes went by before the truck stopped. It was late afternoon and the weather was hotter than ever. Commander Tucker slapped at his neck where a mosquito, or some kind of related bug, tried to take a bite out of him. The Chief Engineer sighed miserably and scratched at a fresh bite on his hand.  
  
"It will only become worse the more you scratch it, Commander." T'Pol remarked.  
  
Tucker glanced over at her and narrowed his eyes. "Thanks.mom."  
  
T'Pol ignored the comment. The officer with the bleeding shoulder exchanged a few quick words with his comrade then jumped out the back. And they all sat there. Tucker didn't know for how long. Five minutes, ten minutes, maybe a half hour? Then after what felt like hours, the tarp from the back was pulled aside.  
  
"Raus! Get out! Los!" Like cockroaches scattering from the light, the prisoners quickly exited the truck. They were all emptied into a clearing. A fence with razor wires surrounded them all. Beyond the fence were barracks that stretched for acres. Tucker tried to ignore the sounds emitting from them. Tucker looked up and saw a sign that said,  
  
"KonzentrationLoger."  
  
Concentration Camp. Tucker thought.  
  
Tucker heard a shout from behind him, "Los! Raus!"  
  
Tucker turned around to see T'Pol being practically thrown out of the truck by the bleeding officer. The Vulcan landed hard on her stomach.in front of one of the growling German Shepherds. Many of the other prisoners stopped to watch this spectacle. T'Pol didn't move. Tucker wasn't sure if it was because she broke her spine or she was smart enough not to make any sudden movements being this close to the vicious creature.  
  
The officer holding the dog's leash made no attempt to pull the dog away. Instead, he grinned stupidly. Tucker glanced over at Archer. He was watching the dog very closely. The dog growled and exposed his teeth. Its eyes were fiery with anger and excitement. It was ready for any action. T'Pol, ever so slightly, lifted her head, just enough to see exactly how close the animal was. Then, one small step at a time, she crawled backwards on her stomach until she was far enough away. T'Pol then got up off the ground. Tucker sighed with relief. The Vulcan was lucky.  
  
"Men over there," The officers yelled, "women and children there!"  
  
"Wait a minute," Tucker thought, "They're separating us?"  
  
"They're separating us." Archer said from behind him.  
  
"What about T'Pol?" Tucker caught a glimpse of the Vulcan amongst the small, huddled crowd of women and children.  
  
Archer swallowed hard and choked out his answer. "She'll be fine." Archer's answer was nowhere nears convincing. Tucker suddenly heard a shriek ring out among the prisoners.  
  
"Let go of me! Let me go!" The horrible screams came from Vian. "Daddyyyy!!! No! I won't go! Daddy!!!"  
  
The husky officers were dragging Barik and Vian away from each other and to opposite sides of the clearing.  
  
"Vian! Don't worry! It'll only be for a little while!"  
  
Barik had no choice but to be taken, but Vian had three officers trying to haul her away. The girl had tears bursting from her eyes, and she wasn't about to be separated from her father. Just when Tucker thought that the officers might shoot Vian, T'Pol came out from the crowd and forced her way into the brawl. One of the officers put his rifle to her head and threatened her using blasphemy.  
  
T'Pol straightened her shoulders. "I will take the girl. Let her go."  
  
The officer hesitated, then grunted and Vian was thrown into T'Pol's arms. With little effort, T'Pol pulled her away to the women's crowd. Once there, Vian fell to her knees and sobbed. She no longer screamed, but murmured indistinctly as she choked on her tears.  
  
The entire scene made Tucker sick and all he could do to rid his mind of the horror was to just look away, or at least Tucker and Archer did. The rest of the prisoners paid no attention to the brutality that had just recently occurred.  
  
"All of you get in a line! Los! In a line!" The prisoners were clearly not quick enough and whips were lashed until everyone was in a straight line, men on one side, women and children on the other. An older man, maybe in his middle forties, in a clean, black uniform stepped out from a watchtower off to the side. He had many stars on his shoulder, suggesting that he was of high rank. His eyes were a piercing.yellow. Tucker raised an eyebrow. Yellow eyes...definitely unique.  
  
The man surveyed the small bunch with disgust. He started at the end of the women's row, looking upon every person. He stopped a moment when he came to T'Pol, peered at her ears quizzically, and then moved on. Eventually, he came to Tucker and Archer. There, he stopped completely.  
  
"Wie heissen Sie?" The officer asked.  
  
Tucker took over and introduced them. "Herr Offizier, Ich heisser Kommanduer Tucker, und dieser ist mein Kapitan, Jonathon Archer." Tucker then explained that T'Pol was also with them.  
  
"What planet are you from?" The man said in English.  
  
Tucker hesitated and looked over at Archer. Tucker wasn't so sure if this man's reaction would be the same as Tobis's. Suddenly, the officer slapped Tucker. The strike was painful, but it angered the chief engineer more than anything and he had to hold himself back from returning the gesture.  
  
Archer hurriedly said, "We're from Earth."  
  
The officer raised an eyebrow and grit his teeth. "And the female?"  
  
"She's from a planet called Vulcan."  
  
"You have two different species working together on one ship?"  
  
"Well, no, not exactly. She's the only one of her kind on my ship."  
  
"Is she a slave?"  
  
Archer shook his head. "No. She's my Science Officer."  
  
The officer paused. "What are you doing here," he raised his voice, "come to try and claim the planet?"  
  
"We didn't come to claim anything. We're explorers. We detected an M Class planet and we came to explore it. That's all."  
  
The officer chuckled. "I doubt that," He then took out a large cigar and lit it with a primitive match, "You're probably refugees running away from Earth, from the war. Tell me, Captain, how long now have the Earth Nazis been in control?"  
  
Now it was Tucker's turn to give a slap in the face, in a manner of speaking. "Actually, the Nazis were defeated over two hundred years ago." The officer took the cigar quickly from his mouth.  
  
"Liar." The officer snarled.  
  
"Nope, Hitler couldn't take the pressure and killed himself. The Nazi Army fell right along with him."  
  
The officer twisted his face into a sneer and he stepped up to Tucker. "I will personally make sure that your imprisonment here will be so horrible and painful that you'll be begging us to kill you." The officer then turned on his heel and walked back to the watchtower.  
  
Tucker could feel Archer's eyes boring into his head. Tucker realized that he hadn't exactly done much to improve their chances of being released.  
  
"I guess that was Colonel Schneider." Tucker said. Archer bit his lip and sighed heavily.  
  
After Schneider left, the other officers stood in front of the prisoners.  
  
"March! Marchieren! Los! Los!" The prisoners followed the officers with a fast pace.  
  
Tucker got one last glace at T'Pol, marching in the opposite direction, who was guiding Vian. The girl was shaking as she walked unsteadily towards the barracks. 


	2. Part 2

Chapter 6  
  
The men's barrack was hot and dark. No lights or electricity were used. Bars covered the outside of every window. By now it had to have been around 1900 hours and the jungle was still as bright as ever. "Lights out" was immediately ordered.  
  
When Archer and the rest of the small group had first entered the barrack, Archer held back a gasp. The prisoners that were already there did not look like humanoids. They were emaciated to the bone and most looked half-dead. There were no elders, probably because they couldn't last as long. The prisoners did not acknowledge the new group. Most only crawled into their cots and curled into a ball, hugging their shaking bodies. Is this what they would become? Near death, starving, and disabled? Archer didn't want to think about it. Sleep suddenly sounded like a great thing to do. Archer peered around the room. It was a little bigger than his bridge, and it was lined with rows of cots with four bunks above them. The bunks were held up by wood. It creaked whenever someone moved.not very comforting. Though Archer doubted these people were that concerned about comfort. And at the moment, neither was Archer. The door behind them closed sharply and was locked. It was somewhat useless to lock the doors. Beyond the barrack was a fence over twenty feet high with barbed wire surrounding the top and down the side to make sure no one escaped. Archer noticed many prisoners curled up on the cement floor sleeping. Archer gazed up at the bunks. Every single one of them was occupied. Archer heard Trip from behind him sigh. Archer looked at the floor and raised an eyebrow. Well, it's not Enterprise, but it'll have to do. Archer thought, and sat down on the cement and let his head lean back against the wall. Trip sat next him and did the same. "So, uh, you got any idea as to how we're going to get out of here?" Trip asked.  
  
Archer shook his head reluctantly. "To tell you the truth, Trip," Archer said, "I haven't a clue."  
  
Trip was silent. Archer closed his eyes and dreamt of Earth.  
  
***  
  
T'Pol crossed her arms and thought about plans for escape. Nothing came to mind. The compound was heavily guarded and they would be shot on sight. Fences made of barbed wire surrounded the entire area. It seemed almost impossible to escape. Technically, they had a 4.6% chance of escaping. And that only chance was to negotiate with the leader and work something out. But the possibility of the Colonel releasing them was very slim; too slim. The young girl called Vian sat next to T'Pol on the cement ground. She'd stopped crying a little while ago. Vian had said, "Her tears ran out." T'Pol didn't fully understand what she meant, so she didn't comment on it. T'Pol did not engage in conversation with the girl. It was irrelevant. T'Pol's main focus was their means of escape. She did not have the time to be sociable. The girl didn't talk either. Instead, Vian gazed about the room, studying it. Sometimes staring at a particular window or prisoner for more than three minutes. T'Pol found these actions odd. But, again, she didn't comment on it. T'Pol thought about Enterprise and what they must be doing. Lieutenant Reed was most likely acting erratic and illogical. Hardly what a commander of a vessel should be like. Not one member of the Enterprise crew would know what had happened to their officers.  
  
Which means they might try to come down and help them only to become caught themselves. The number of officers here greatly exceeded the amount of people that could fit in a shuttle pod. The results would be devastating. T'Pol pondered the thought of how they'd gotten out of many dangerous situations throughout Enterprise's journey. Would this be included? Vulcan's didn't believe in luck, so T'Pol dismissed the idea and concluded that they would probably die here in what Captain Archer and Commander Tucker would refer to as "Hell."  
  
"Why did you come here?" Vian spoke for the first time in seventeen minutes. T'Pol turned her head slightly, but didn't speak.  
  
Vian expressed a sad smile. "I know better than to say we're alone in the universe, Sub-Commander. When I asked my father why there were so many different species here, he just said it was a result of the evolutionary process," Vian hugged her knees to her chest and frowned at the floor, "I didn't believe him."  
  
"How did you know I was a Sub-Commander?"  
  
Vian tucked her wavy brown hair behind her ear. "I heard your captain call you that. So what are you doing here?"  
  
"We came on a peaceful research mission."  
  
"Couldn't your gadgets and stuff tell you that not exactly anything down here is peaceful?"  
  
"Our ship is damaged badly. Many of our tools are offline. I had advised that we stay on our ship, but the captain is ambitious and curious."  
  
"There isn't anything wrong with that."  
  
T'Pol bristled softly. "The captain's inquisitiveness is what led us to this prison. If he'd listened to me, we'd be out of your planet's atmosphere by now."  
  
"But you would never know what was going on down here and how Earth is involved."  
  
"The Humans had no way of knowing about-"  
  
"No, they couldn't have, but it's their fault whether they knew about it or not."  
  
T'Pol couldn't reply to this. The girl was correct. Vian remained silent and soon let her head lie lazily to her shoulder and fell asleep. T'Pol couldn't think about sleep. She simply wasn't tired and had too much on her mind. So, instead, she crossed her legs, and silently meditated.  
  
***  
  
Ensign Sato sat idly in her chair. There was nothing she could do to help find their missing officers. She'd tried hundred upon hundreds of times to contact the surface. Nothing would go through. Sato could hear Lieutenant Reed from behind her tapping his fingers on the command chair. He was having a hard time sitting still. Sato suddenly experienced some déjà vu. Back when the same three officers were prisoners of Andorians. Lt. Reed had been acting just as he was now.  
  
Lt. Reed got up and went to the communicator on the wall. "Reed to Engineering."  
  
"Go ahead, Lieutenant."  
  
"Is someone working on the camera?"  
  
"Not presently, Sir. The warp naccelle has been the necessity."  
  
"Get someone to work on that camera. I want to see what's going on down on that planet."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Reed cut the channel and resumed his place in the command chair. He seemed somewhat satisfied with his order. Satisfied that he could do something.  
  
"Sir?" Hoshi said.  
  
"Hm?" Reed worked on his console and didn't look up.  
  
"I think you should eat something." Reed nodded in acknowledgment but didn't seem to hear her.  
  
"Lieutenant?!" Hoshi said, a bit louder.  
  
This time, Reed looked up and in different directions before he settled his gaze on Hoshi.  
  
"What is it, Hoshi, what's wrong?"  
  
"There's nothing wrong, Sir. I just said before that you should eat something."  
  
"Thank you, but I'm fine."  
  
"Sir, you're pale and you won't stop twitching."  
  
Reed scoffed. "I don't twitch."  
  
Hoshi lowered her gaze to Reed's tapping foot. Reed looked down and immediately stopped tapping. "I was doing that on purpose."  
  
"Sure," Hoshi said with a twinkle in her eye, "but really, Lieutenant, you're commanding this vessel at the moment and you should be in top working form. That includes having a meal every once and awhile."  
  
Reed sighed but still didn't seem that convinced. He longingly glanced around the bridge.  
  
"Don't worry," Hoshi said, "I'll call you immediately if anything happens."  
  
Reed was obviously fighting with himself and he started to tap his fingers again. Hoshi couldn't stand it.  
  
"Sir!"  
  
Reed stopped tapping and looked up. Hoshi nodded her head toward the turbo- lift.  
  
"Go on."  
  
Reed grumbled and stood from the comfort of the command chair and walked slowly to the turbo-lift.  
  
"You have the bridge, Ensign." ***  
  
Morning came all too quickly. Though, from what it looked like outside, the word "morning" was an understatement. The sun had barely begun to rise from the horizon when Commander Tucker had hastily awoken Archer.  
  
"What is it?" Archer asked sleepily.  
  
"Get up, Sir."  
  
Archer was used to getting up at 0700, but it felt like about 0400 hours. Archer looked around the room and saw the prisoners all but running as fast as they could into a line. Archer stumbled over to the line, sleep still claiming him, and tried to stand as straight as possible. Several guards were holding lanterns because of the lack of electricity in the barrack. Only a moment later, an officer in his mid-thirties stepped into the barrack. He walked with his chin up and hands behind his back. He took his, believe it or not, riding crop and rapidly tapped their heads taking attendance. The officer nodded to the guards and left the barrack.  
  
"Who came in last night? Wer kemmen? Step forward!" One of the guards said.  
  
Archer and Trip exchanged glances, and took one step forward. Eight other prisoners did the same.  
  
"The rest of you may go to your duties, you ten, come mit mer."  
  
Archer and the rest did as ordered and followed the guard out the doors. A crisp, chilly breeze whipped past Archer and he shuddered from the sudden cold. The bitter night weather was obviously still in control this early in the morning. And it probably wouldn't warm up for another hour or so. But despite the cold, prisoners were up and working. Past the barracks, there was a hill where prisoners worked with shovels, leveling the ground for construction. Guards stand around them, weapons drawn, and whips in their hands. Further into the camp, Archer recognized mining equipment and soon saw the large tunnels that led deep underground. Archer heard screams from the dark depths of the mine every once and a while. It made Trip uneasy and kept his head down. Archer suddenly remembered a scene from a movie he watched on Enterprise not too long ago. What was it called.Temple of Doom? Yeah, that's right, it was a part of some series of Indiana Jones movies.  
  
The scene had contained slave children working in mines. Part of the sound effects contained blood-curdling screams. It sounded too similar to these shrieks of pain and torture. Only now, it was real. 


	3. Part 3

Chapter 7  
  
T'Pol and the other new prisoners had been ordered to follow their guards to a small building across from their barracks. The building was brightly lit and T'Pol squinted from the unpleasant light. T'Pol walked in a line behind Vian and saw an officer hurriedly tattooing prisoners arms with numbers. The man was very young, probably around nineteen. He was sweating and his hands were tremulous as he tattooed the women's arms. This man didn't want to be here. He paused when he saw young Vian, who gingerly put her arm out, and shook his head. The officer rapidly tattooed the numbers on. Vian grimaced from the discomfort. T'Pol was next and she had no choice but to roll up her sleeve and allow the numbers to be etched onto her skin.  
  
835014. T'Pol's new designation. T'Pol said the numbers over and over again in her head. 835014. 835014. It was memorized. She would remember it if the time came to give her name, or label.  
  
T'Pol rolled her sleeve back down and followed Vian and the other women out the door they had come in. The sun was now rising higher and faster by the minute. The breeze started to grow some warmth to it and was pleasant for a little while.  
  
The guards rounded them up in a line and looked each one over, assigning their jobs. The guard came to T'Pol and looked her up and down. He had a clipboard and made notes.  
  
"How strong are you, Frau?" The officer's voice was monotone and bored.  
  
"Strong enough."  
  
The officer eyed her suspiciously and resisted an urge to smack her for her disrespectful response. But his job was not to hurt the fools; it was to assign them their work detail. The beatings would come when the woman tumbled over in fatigue and pain. If she cried out, the beatings would only become more severe. It was an efficient way to keep them all in line. Although, only after a short while, the woman would then become savage, and more drastic measures would be taken. Such as the gas chamber or Decimation, one of the, if not most, frightening ways to die. But this woman seemed surprisingly calm and motivated to live. That would change shortly. As a matter of fact, the officer was almost sure that everything about this woman would be swept away in a pool of blood and torture. She was nothing. She was number 835014 as she stated calmly and coolly. One number of many. Too many. Too many worthless souls.  
  
"You say you are strong enough.then you shall work in the mines."  
  
An officer stepped behind T'Pol and put a gun to her back. The guard proceeded to Vian. She stood as straight as she could, but her expression showed great fear and instability. The guard sighed. He didn't like his job too much. He really had better things to do than enlist these people to jobs that would only kill them in the future. Half of these women would be dead within twelve days. The children and elders were usually the ones do die first. All the guards here were vicious and unmerciful. But, serving in this war was his job and he did it whether he wanted to or not. The guard suddenly thought of his own daughter at home, warm in her bed and he knew that this girl had a father somewhere who worried about her with every moment of his imprisonment, and he immediately ordered the young girl to the kitchen to peel potatoes. She seemed somewhat relieved. So did the woman who relaxed her shoulders a bit.  
  
T'Pol nodded to Vian and then allowed herself to be taken at gunpoint to the mine.  
  
***  
  
Commander Tucker really wanted to put his shovel down. But doing that a few minutes ago only earned him a punch in the face and a kick to his stomach. He didn't dare put his shovel down again. Blisters formed quickly on his hands as he thrust the shovel into the hard dirt.  
  
Dig. Throw dirt to pile. Dig again.  
  
It was very consecutive, the same thing over and over again. The sun had now risen to a much higher point, and the smoldering heat overwhelmed the encampment. Trip could tell even the guards, who did just about nothing, were uncomfortable in the heat.  
  
As Trip dug, he thought about T'Pol's theory. How these people could adopt a language, customs, and just about an entire civilization and use it to turn against their own people. Trip thought about the German Shepherds too. How these reincarnated Nazis must have even sneaked onto Earth and stole some of the animals. And, apparently, weaponry as well. T'Pol's theory did make a lot of sense. During the 1940's, space travel and aliens wasn't exactly given that much thought. It was true that, literally, any vessel could've come right on over to Earth and taken on to this brutality. They copied so many things, right down to the swastikas patched on their arms. It was sick. This whole thing was just plain sick. And it hurt Tucker even more to realize that this really was their fault. It these aliens had never seen the torture that was displayed on Earth, this probably would've never happened. Or not have been so bad.  
  
"Los! You're slowing down! Los! Do you want to die, du Feigling?"  
  
Trip remembered the word well from his German class. His own teacher called him that once.  
  
Mr. Keigaen. The German teacher from Hell. Trip could remember the conversation like it was yesterday.  
  
"Mr. Tucker, I don't know how you've even managed to get this far in my class."  
  
Mr. Keigaen squinted his eyes at Trip's paper. The old man grunted as he looked the test over.  
  
"Hm, yes, most unsatisfactory. And I'm sure it's because of a certain 'distraction,' hm?"  
  
Trip bit his lip which quivered every so slightly.  
  
"Sir, I don't know what do say-"  
  
"Obviously not! Almost every answer on this page is incorrect! I wouldn't trust you to have a conversation with a German mute!"  
  
The insult had hurt, but it wasn't enough to make Trip angry. Right now, all that was important was that he might get a second chance to take the test. He was sure he'd do better.  
  
"I doubt you'll do any better, Mr. Tucker. And to tell the truth, I'm not the least bit surprised. If you weren't so busy ogling the females in my class, you might actually have learned something!"  
  
Now that hurt even more. He wasn't ogling anyone. Sure, he had a little crush on the one Fiona Dawson, but it wasn't as bad as Mr. Keigaen made it sound. And Trip wanted to make a point of this, or his reputation just might go to pot.  
  
"Sir, I'd really like to make it clear that I don't 'ogle' anyone-"  
  
"Oh, for goodness sakes, Mr. Tucker! You are an embarrassment to this class," Mr. Keigaen tossed the paper to his desk and continued to talk, "Did you know, that the Germans have a word just for the kind of people like you?"  
  
Trip didn't say anything to this. He only listened.  
  
"The word, is 'feigling,'" Trip tensed up from the sound of the word, "Do you know what that means, Mr. Tucker?"  
  
"Yes, Sir, I do."  
  
"Please, Mr. Tucker. You tell me, what does it mean?"  
  
Trip put his hands behind his back and grit his teeth. "It means 'coward,' Sir."  
  
"That's right, Mr. Tucker. That's exactly what it means, and that's exactly what you are. Now get out of my sight."  
  
Tucker dug a little faster and harder as he reflected on that conversation. How it hurt when he walked out of the classroom and saw Fiona Dawson on the other side of the door. How sad her face was as she walked away despite Trip's protests. From then on, Trip hated that word. Hated its very existence in the universe. ***  
  
At first, the mine work was pretty simple. Dig for the special mineral rock, put it in the coal car. But after a while, regardless of T'Pol's strength, the work became tiring. The weather wasn't so bad though. Vulcans liked the heat and were accustomed to it.  
  
A guard was posted every couple of feet. They kept a watchful eye on everyone. T'Pol thought about the guard who had assigned them their jobs. How when he saw Vian, his complexion softened ever so slightly. Then giving her a safe and easy job like peeling potatoes. It was easy to see he wasn't exactly like the others. Not as ruthless.  
  
Thinking about these things seemed to make T'Pol's job go by faster. But then, T'Pol felt the unmistakable sensation of being starved. T'Pol realized that she'd hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and she was becoming dizzy. T'Pol straightened her spine and eased the annoyance of the pain into a separate section of her mind so that she didn't feel it anymore. Besides, pain was only a messenger. It could be dealt with. Though the sub-commander doubted the captain, the chief engineer, or Vian were capable of performing meditation of this high level. T'Pol would work with Vian at the end of the day and try to teach her.  
  
"Frau! No time for rest! Los!"  
  
A guard stood behind her with a whip held ready in his hands. The man grinned as he slapped the whip onto his hand. T'Pol swallowed and took the pick in hands. Another guard watched her closely and waited to see where exactly she would swing her tool. T'Pol launched the pick into the rock.  
  
"Gut Madchen." The guard said.  
  
T'Pol imagined that he said something like "good girl." T'Pol didn't like it, but it was better than being whipped.  
  
To be continued. 


	4. Part 4

Chapter 8  
  
Archer got in the line with Tucker and waited the day's rations. It was around 2100 hours and their work shift was done for the day.  
  
Thank God. Archer thought. His body ached all over from the mining. And he had a few bruises from when he'd stop to rest. The guards didn't tolerate this and one guard slammed his gun into Archer's back. As much as it hurt, it also impelled him to work faster and harder. Which did nothing to improve the aching in his neck, back, and just about every other part of his body.  
  
Trip had a black eye that was now swollen. He kept it half closed. He also looked quite worn out from the day's tribulations. For the first time since the night before, Archer thought about T'Pol and wondered how she was doing. He knew that Vulcans could last several days without water and that they were many times stronger than Humans. But Archer suspected that this place could wear down even the strongest Vulcan.  
  
Throughout the day, Archer, unfortunately, witnessed more gruesome acts of this place. Including an unauthorized execution right in the mine. One of the prisoners fell down in fatigue and refused to get up despite the guard's screamed orders. Another guard marched over and pulled the prisoner to his feet. Then Archer watched in horror as a gun was put to the prisoner's gut. The guard spit in the prisoner's face, and then shot him. The prisoner never protested throughout the entire ordeal. He didn't have any fight left in him. And the guards knew it. The rest of the day, Archer worked without rest.  
  
Three guards came into the barrack and split all the prisoners into groups of four. Each group was given a single bowl with some kind of repulsive yellow and watery gruel. Archer's group consisted of himself, Trip, Barik, and a boy of around twelve, named Loupa. Loupa's family came to the camp over a year ago. But his father was killed in the gas chamber, and he doesn't know the whereabouts of his mother or sister. Loupa hadn't seen them since the day they were separated a year and a half ago. Archer was somewhat surprised that the kid had lasted this long. Barik had sadly stated the fact that children were usually the first to die.  
  
They all took a small portion of the gruel and ate it slowly even though they were ravenous. There was barely any food once it was separated, but eating it slowly would give it some time to be digested slower and, hopefully, help them feel more satisfied. But the small amount of food that Archer took seemed to be teasing him, because he only became hungrier.  
  
After their "meal," Archer took his place on the cement floor but didn't go to sleep. Trip was chatting with Loupa about warp cores and such and Barik sat in a corner on the opposite side of the room. He was holding a small white flower. His eyes were heavy from lack of sleep. Archer suddenly remembered Vian. Archer couldn't even imagine how Barik felt. Especially when Barik witnessed his daughter being dragged from him away like that.  
  
"Mind if I sit down?"  
  
Barik glanced up to see Archer hovering over him. Barik put his hand out gesturing him to sit. Archer sat across from Barik and watched him twiddle with the delicate flower.  
  
Barik caught Archer's gaze on the flower and he held it up a little.  
  
"This was, I mean, is Vian's favorite flower." The man smiled some. "It's called a tamika. It was her mother's favorite too."  
  
"Where is her mother?"  
  
Barik shrugged. "We were all separated three years ago, when Vian was twelve. The SS came to our home and separated everyone. I had another daughter. She was only four months old. She was taken with her mother. It was never said where they went," Barik stopped a moment as he recalled the memory, "the SS had taken Vian and I to a ghetto with other prisoners. We spent those three long years there until we were taken here. And now it's just me."  
  
Archer shook his head. "I'm sure she stayed with my officer and T'Pol would make sure Vian was safe."  
  
"No one here is safe, Captain," Barik replied, "no one."  
  
As he said that, Archer heard a man in one of the bunks cry out. Archer turned around sharply and saw an old man fall from the bunk clutching his chest. Trip was the first to make it to the man and he searched frantically for a pulse. But where? From his wrist? His neck?  
  
"His temple, Mr. Tucker," Barik said, "check his temple."  
  
Trip put two fingers above the man's eyebrow and he waited for a few seconds. Other prisoners awoke and stared. Trip sighed and laid the man's head gently to the floor. As he did this, a cluster of prisoners crowded around the man and hastily took his shoes and clothes. Someone even took occupation of the man's cot within five seconds flat. Trip crawled out from the swarm of prisoners in disbelief.  
  
"Jesus! What's the matter with you people?!" Trip yelled exasperatingly.  
  
Archer stared in astonishment at the greediness of the prisoners. Barik caught the look of disbelief on Archer's face.  
  
"Here, Captain, nothing is wasted."  
  
Archer nodded. "Yeah."  
  
The prisoners eventually cleared the area leaving the old man sprawled out on the cement floor. Nothing happened.  
  
"What," Trip said, "they're just gonna leave 'em there?"  
  
Two prisoners slid out of their bunks and carelessly dragged the dead man by his hands to a vacant corner of the room.  
  
***  
  
"I still have a hard time believing that they came here to just, what was the word they used," Schneider tapped his fingers on his desk and then his eyes lit up, "oh, yes, 'explore.' " Schneider chuckled. "Nobody comes to this planet to 'explore.' "  
  
"I disagree. Humans have never been here before and most likely have no idea that we even exist. I believe they came to this planet without any knowledge of our existence." Cmdr. Lee said diligently.  
  
"Yes, but being that they're here now," Colonel Schneider opened the blinds of his office window and stared out at the jungle, "who knows how many more they have. We must be careful with this. They could launch a full-blown war against us!"  
  
The Colonel peered at the sky. "I must know how big their ship is and if we're in any real danger. They mentioned that one of them was the Captain. I shall have a meeting with him."  
  
Schneider closed the blinds with a sigh. "Will you get him for me, Commander?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
***  
  
After their meal, T'Pol told Vian to sit down with her. Vian looked fatigued and ready to fall down, but T'Pol had to give Vian her first meditation lesson. T'Pol sat directly in front of the girl and began the lesson.  
  
"Close your eyes."  
  
"Gladly." Vian mumbled.  
  
"Please dispose of your sarcasm. This is important."  
  
Vian sighed and then closed her eyes delicately.  
  
"Now," continued T'Pol, "tell me what your pain is."  
  
"Lack of sleep."  
  
"Concentrate, Ms. Vian. What pain are you feeling?"  
  
Vian was silent for a moment, and then uttered a single sentence. "I miss my father."  
  
"Tell me more."  
  
"It's the first time is three years that we've been separated. I miss him."  
  
"Is there anyone else you yearn for?"  
  
Vian thought for a moment. "My mother. My little sister," Vian smiled sensitively, "my home."  
  
"Tell me about your home."  
  
"It was big. Daddy had a really good job. I even had my own room. There was a garden. My garden. I grew tamikas. My mother had helped me plant them. But I've taken care of them ever since I was little." Vian's expression grew sad, and then angry.  
  
"But then the SS came. When they dragged us out of the house, they stepped all over my garden. I remember my mother's expression. She was so sad. I had screamed at the SS to get off my flowers. One of them slapped me. My father punched him. But then three more officers beat him, and," Vian's voice choked with tears, "and."  
  
Vian cried openly now.  
  
"Hold on to that pain, Vian. Hold it. Now imagine yourself during that exact time and imagine your father winning. Imagine allies coming and saving you. All of you. Now block the pain Vian. Forget it and think of a happy time. The pain is only a messenger. Say it."  
  
Vian still choked on the tears but did as T'Pol asked. "Pain is only the messenger. Pain is only the messenger."  
  
"Think about those words and their meaning. Force them into a part of your mind where there is a dark, empty room. Store the pain there, lock the door, and overcome it. Pain is only the messenger."  
  
They did this sort of ritual for several minutes. Vian was doing her best and was overcoming the pain, but slowly. Then they were both silent. Vian opened her eyes tentatively. T'Pol did the same.  
  
"I don't believe," Vian whispered, "how much clearer I feel."  
  
Indeed, Vian's demeanor had calmed.  
  
"If we continue this and meditate every night, soon you will overcome great pains and dilemmas. This is only a small amount of pain that you've managed to conquer."  
  
They were both reticent for a while.  
  
"I suggest we sleep." T'Pol said, and she backed up against the wall and fell into a deep slumber. 


	5. Part 5

I'm sad that no one reviewed my last chapter. Maybe it wasn't that good. Oh, well.  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 9  
  
"Aufstehen! Get up! Aufstehen! Los!"  
  
Archer felt someone kick his leg violently. Archer opened his eyes and saw two guards standing over him. Commander Lee stood behind the guards. Her expression was difficult to read. Archer got up and rubbed his eyes. It was early and none of the other prisoners were up yet.  
  
"What's going on?" Trip was lying on his side on the cement when he saw the captain standing.  
  
Commander Lee stepped in front of Archer.  
  
"The Colonel has requested a meeting with you, Captain."  
  
"The Colonel," Archer said, surprised, "wants to speak with me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Archer blinked several times in uncertainty. "What about my mining job-"  
  
"It will be taken care of. Come with me."  
  
Commander Lee turned around sharply and walked swiftly out the door.  
  
"Cap'n?" Tucker said sleepily.  
  
"Stay here, Trip."  
  
Commander Tucker hesitated, but then shrugged and laid back down on the cement.  
  
Archer was led out of the barrack and out of the entire complex. Archer was brought, at gunpoint, to an automobile, perhaps a jeep. Archer sat in the backseat, in-between the two guards. Cmdr. Lee sat in the front seat with another officer who drove the jeep. The road that led through the jungle was paved and very smooth, unlike the road Archer and the others had traveled on. The road, or one could properly call a street, eventually came to an end in front of an old, but massive castle. The castle immediately reminded Archer of Europe's 15th century castles.  
  
Trip would've loved to have seen this. Archer said.  
  
The structure fascinated Archer to a high degree. It was somewhat odd, a fortress this large and old in the middle of a tropical forest. But it had a strange, enticing beauty to it that intrigued the Enterprise Captain.  
  
Cmdr. Lee suddenly stepped into Archer's gaze. She looked annoyed.  
  
"Yes, it is quite magnificent. Now come with me."  
  
Archer was persuaded to follow the woman by the cold point of a gun on his back.  
  
The castle was completely surrounded by guards. They eyed the captain suspiciously. Archer kept his head down. Tapestries covered the walls. They all revealed something related to the Nazis, especially the swastikas. Others had some kind of passages that were in German.  
  
They all walked down the long, dark hallway for a long time. Torches lit up the passage. After a while, they came a large door. Cmdr. Lee knocked lightly which was accompanied by a gruff voice from inside.  
  
"Hereinkommen!"  
  
Lee pushed the wooden door open to reveal a surprisingly modern office. The room was huge with fancy furniture and a large desk made of some kind of wood that reminded Archer of cherry wood. The room had many photographs hung on the walls showing the Colonel happily shaking other people's hands.  
  
Behind the desk was the Colonel who had a grumpy expression on his face. His head was down and he was concentrating on the scattered papers on his desk. Archer noticed a photo on the desk of a young, beautiful woman with wavy blond hair. She gave a mysterious smile that reminded the captain of the Mona Lisa.  
  
"Colonel?" Lee said.  
  
The Colonel grunted but didn't look up. "What is it, May Ling? I'm busy."  
  
"I have the Human Captain here as you requested."  
  
This caught the Colonel's attention and he finally lifted his gaze from his paperwork.  
  
"Oh, yes," The Colonel leaned back in chair and tossed his pen to the desk. He then motioned his hand to the chair on the other side of the desk, "sit."  
  
"I'd prefer to stand, Colonel." Archer said.  
  
"And I'd prefer you to sit." Archer didn't have much choice as the guards roughly shoved him into the chair.  
  
"So, Colonel, what did you want to talk about?"  
  
"Your ship."  
  
There was an awkward pause and then Archer spoke. "What about her?"  
  
"What's her name?"  
  
"Enterprise."  
  
"Hm. Enterprise. I like the sound of it."  
  
"I hope, Colonel, that you didn't have me dragged down here in the middle of the night just to talk about my ship which my officers and I would like to return to."  
  
"Don't get your hopes up, Captain. I'm simply curious about the vessel hovering over my planet."  
  
"From what I've noticed, this isn't exactly your planet."  
  
The guards from behind Archer stiffened at the insult and awaited the Colonel's command to strike the prisoner. The Colonel merely chuckled.  
  
"Technically, it's not. But I'm getting close. Now, please, do tell me about Enterprise."  
  
"To know a ship like Enterprise could even exist, one would think that you'd have the technology to study my ship yourself."  
  
"We did away with fancy technology and warp drive long ago, Captain. What we have now is quite fine."  
  
"But you still can't study Enterprise. How naïve."  
  
This Captain was really pushing it. But the Colonel let him talk. Let this starship captain build his confidence up until he would say something so stupid, the Colonel could just kill him right in his chair.  
  
That would be exciting. The Colonel thought.  
  
"Tell me more about your ship. What speed can you get her up to?"  
  
The captain didn't answer. This was becoming frustrating.  
  
"Captain, your stay at my camp can be made quite easy if you'd just answer my questions."  
  
"You didn't really give us that option when we first came here now, did you? So why should I believe anything that you say?"  
  
It was now obvious the captain was not going to be cooperative.  
  
Oh, well, it was a nice try. Schneider thought.  
  
The Colonel pulled out his pistol and pointed it at Archer. The captain remained stable. Schneider cocked the gun and then stopped and put it down.  
  
"No, wait," the Colonel said and he shook his head, "this is too easy, too fast. Chances are if I get you in the head, you won't even feel a thing before you're dead," the colonel put his gun away, "and besides, this carpet is new. I'd rather not get any blood stains on it."  
  
Schneider couldn't help but notice the small expression of relief on the captain's face and the angry scowl on Lee's.  
  
"Hm, no I think, perhaps I have something better to torture you with," the colonel smothered a grin as the color drained from the captain's face, "Commander, when is the next scheduled decimation?"  
  
"This morning at 0700."  
  
"Where is that girl that the pointy-eared woman saved?"  
  
"Wait-" The captain said with anxiety.  
  
"I am sorry, Captain, but you had the choice to be cooperative, and you weren't. Now I'm just going to have to take it out on one of your friends. Commander, the girl?"  
  
"She's stationed at the kitchen to peel potatoes."  
  
"Hm, you know the drill, Commander. And please, take this pathetic man out of my sight."  
  
"Yes, sir." Lee said blissfully.  
  
"Wait, you can't do this! Please, I'll tell you all you want to know-ughh!" Lee smacked the captain over the head with her fist sending the man into unconsciousness.  
  
"Be absolutely sure, Commander, that he's awake to witness the execution."  
  
"Most certainly, Colonel."  
  
* * *  
  
T'Pol and Vian awoke early and got in line for roll call, or what T'Pol learned to be formally known as, "Zahlappell." The same officer that had come yesterday lightly tapped their heads and then proceeded out of the barracks with a nod to the guards.  
  
"Go to your jobs." The guard said in a harsh tone, and he also left the barracks.  
  
Vian followed T'Pol out of the barracks, and then she waved and slowly made her way to the kitchen. T'Pol was about to turn around, when out of the corner of her eye, she saw an unfamiliar guard step in front of Vian. T'Pol stopped and watched the guard's movement. He put his gun to Vian's head and motioned her to follow him.  
  
T'Pol wasn't sure what she was doing when she walked swiftly towards Vian and the guard. The Vulcan was also uncertain as to why she stepped in front of the guard and demanded to know where the girl was being taken. The officer was equally surprised by T'Pol's actions. But his astonishment quickly turned into fury and he punched T'Pol, hard. The Vulcan staggered, but didn't fall. She was strong and could cope with some damage. But T'Pol's courage only enraged the guard further and he exploded into a storm of blows and punches. Vian stepped back and watched how T'Pol easily steered clear of the guard's strikes.  
  
Other prisoners stopped their work and watched. None of the other guards stopped them or interfered. They watched the spectacle with great fascination and cheered the guard on.  
  
T'Pol did not want to fight back. But, strangely, she did. T'Pol landed a hard punch into the guard's stomach followed by elbowing him in the face. The guard swayed and then tried desperately to knock T'Pol down. T'Pol avoided him by stepping to the side allowing the guard to fall flat on his face. T'Pol stood rigidly, ready for the guard to get back up, but he stayed down. The other guards around them groaned and yelled out protests for the man to get back up.  
  
"You want to loose to a Frau, you Feigling?" One screamed.  
  
Suddenly, the crowd started to quiet.  
  
"Move! Was ist going on hier? Move! Zuruckziehen! Move back!" Cmdr. Lee hurriedly pushed her way through the crowd.  
  
T'Pol stood straight and put her hands behind her back. Cmdr. Lee stopped when she saw the guard flat on the ground. Lee eyed T'Pol and then knelt down and felt for the guard's pulse.  
  
"He is not dead, Commander."  
  
Lee stood slowly. "Lucky enough for you. What the hell happened here?"  
  
"He attacked me."  
  
"So?!"  
  
"I was merely defending myself."  
  
Lee stepped up to T'Pol and put a fist in front of her face. "No prisoner of my colony dares attack a guard."  
  
Lee delivered a solid punch to T'Pol's stomach. It was too fast and too close for T'Pol to evade and the outcome of the punch knocked the air out of the Vulcan. Lee backed up and turned around, appeared to be finished, but then she spun around again and kicked the Vulcan in face. This time, T'Pol fell to the ground putting a hand to her stomach as bright green blood oozed out of her cheek. The other guards were cheering again. Lee knelt down and grabbed T'Pol's head by her hair.  
  
"There is one thing and one thing only that you should understand," Lee hissed, "You are nothing, a useless piece of skin. The only reason that you even exist is to work for others as a mindless servant. Because that's exactly what you are. Or for how much time you have left." T'Pol didn't say anything and she let her head be dropped again to the ground.  
  
T'Pol looked up and saw Vian staring down at her in disbelief. The view from around T'Pol started to darken at the edges.  
  
"Prepare the woman for decimation immediately." That was the last thing T'Pol heard before all turned to black.  
  
* * *  
  
Rain. It felt so good. The clean feeling of the water made T'Pol feel almost Vulcan again. T'Pol tried to move her hands. She couldn't. They were tied behind her back.  
  
T'Pol opened her eyes to see herself surrounded by prisoners and guards. It was dawn, and T'Pol was tied to a wooden post. She looked to her right. Vian was tied to another post. Fifteen or so other prisoners were the same way. T'Pol tried to remember what she'd heard before she blacked out.  
  
Decimation.  
  
T'Pol had heard whispers of this cruel execution. The prisoners who were "guilty" were lined up at dawn and would face a firing squadron. And every tenth prisoner, by an officer's count, would be shot. No one ever knew where the count would start off or who the tenth would be until the shot would ring out. Sometimes, an officer would start count in the middle of the row, and then change direction. It was a frightening ordeal, and now T'Pol was going to experience it.  
  
Prisoners were yelling and screaming protests, while the guards cheered happily.  
  
"T'Pol!" Someone said her name in the distance. But it sounded so far away.  
  
"T'Pol!" There it was again.  
  
T'Pol forced herself to look up. She searched the crowd and caught sight of Captain Archer. Commander Tucker was with him, as well as Barik. Archer's eyes were wide and filled with deep concern. Barik saw T'Pol and then he saw Vian. His expression changed instantly. He shoved his way through the crowd until he got to where the guards were. Archer yelled at him to come back, but it didn't do any good. Barik wasn't able to do anything before to keep Vian from the concentration camp, but he was determined to do something now.  
  
"No! Go back!" Vian said bravely.  
  
The guards shoved the desperate man back threatening him with their guns.  
  
T'Pol closed her eyes. She did not wish to see anything. The noise around her suddenly felt clogged. It sounded very distant. The screams sounded slow, and the only noise T'Pol heard was her heavy breathing and the slow thick raindrops.  
  
T'Pol opened her eyes to see the firing squadron marching to their positions. There was one officer for each prisoner. T'Pol stared at the man standing four meters from her. He was too young; too young to take another's life. But he didn't show it. His expression was a hard mask. Nonetheless, T'Pol stared at him fiercely. She wanted this man to realize that she wasn't afraid.  
  
She'd lived a long life. Yes, she could've lived much longer, but that wasn't the point. She'd accomplished much in her life. One thing she would regret, though, was never marrying or having children. But it was irrelevant to think about a future that would never be.  
  
An order was given and the officers lifted their guns and pointed them at their prisoner. Then, the count started.  
  
"Eins! Zwei! Drei! Vier! Funf! Sechs! Sieben! Acht! Neun!" T'Pol held her breath, "Zehn!"  
  
A shot so piercing rang out. T'Pol shook and then realized it was not her. T'Pol looked up and down the rows. An old woman fell to her knees in a pool of blood. The counting began again.  
  
"Eins! Zwei! Drei! Vier! Funf! Sechs! Sieben! Acht! Neun!"  
  
They didn't even say ten this time when T'Pol heard the shot and saw a body to her left scream out and collapse to the ground.  
  
The count started again and this time they only counted to seven. T'Pol heard two screams. She whipped her head around and saw in horror Vian's body slowly slide to the ground. The other scream came from the crowd. Barik frantically tried to get to the girl but he had no way of getting past the guards. T'Pol saw Archer and Tucker drag the helpless and weeping man back to the prisoner's crowd.  
  
The counting began once again. T'Pol couldn't hear them anymore. Only saw the officer's mouth move and the officer's steadying their guns.  
  
T'Pol felt more alone than she ever had in her life. And for once, T'Pol felt the overwhelming sensation of fear. Fear of death. She could almost smell it. Smell the blood. Another shot rang out. T'Pol looked around. No one fell. They were all staring at her. T'Pol looked down, and saw green blood staining her rust-colored unitard. Her stomach ached. T'Pol saw Archer and Tucker staring in disbelief. T'Pol felt her knees grow weak, and the Vulcan let herself slide down the pole and fall to the ground. So this was death. It had finally come. How unfortunate that it had finally come.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	6. Part 6

Chapter 10  
  
"I can't stand this anymore," Lt. Reed said as he paced the bridge, "we don't know what's going on down there and it's scaring the bloody hell out of me."  
  
Everyone kept their eyes on the Lieutenant, awaiting their orders on how to retrieve their crewmembers.  
  
"Hoshi?"  
  
"Sir, there's no way to contact the surface unless we were to go down there ourselves." The Ensign said with frustration.  
  
"All right," Reed said, "I guess that's just what we're going to have to do."  
  
* * *  
  
"I-I can't believe she's really gone." Trip said as he fiddled with a loose string of his cot. His eyes were glossy.  
  
"They just-shot her," He snapped his finger, "just like that," Trip shook his head, "evil Nazi bastards."  
  
Archer looked over at Barik who sat in a corner. The man wasn't afraid to cry. And he did so openly. In his hand, there was a small, wilted tamika. Barik had asked to be left alone. Everyone respected his method of mourning and let him sit alone in his corner.  
  
"I didn't know either of them," Loupa said, who was leaning on his elbows on the cot, "but I'm sure they were real nice gals."  
  
"Thanks, Loupa." Archer said.  
  
"I wonder what the Vulcan afterworld is like?" Trip remarked.  
  
Archer said, "I'm not sure if they have one. T'Pol never mentioned anything about one that she believed in."  
  
The rest of the barrack was almost asleep. Archer and the rest of his group now all had their own cots. The decimation had taken quite a few lives from their barracks. Archer had heard from Trip that the prisoners were randomly chosen from a line that Trip had been part of. Innocent prisoners. Though, Archer was sure that everyone here was innocent. Anyway, Trip was lucky. It was a small line and they had chosen every other prisoner to be executed. But that still wouldn't change the fact that one of his crewmembers was dead.  
  
Archer sighed. "The Vulcan High Command is gonna have my ass for this."  
  
Archer felt kind of bad for saying that, but it was true. And it took his thoughts away from the memory of T'Pol's expression when she realized she'd been shot. She didn't hold back emotion. Tears streamed down her face as she slid ungracefully to the muddy ground. The decimation went on for a few more minutes, but Archer didn't watch. He only stared at his Science Officer lying on the ground with her eyes still wide open, staring back at her captain...the captain that had failed her.  
  
* * *  
  
This Vulcan had thought herself to be too sophisticated to believe in something as impractical as an afterlife. But, perhaps, she was wrong.  
  
T'Pol strained to open her eyes. But, strangely, she felt she didn't want to. Her stomach had an excruciating throbbing to it. And she dare not touch it. T'Pol tried to roll over to her other side. The mattress she was on was cold and clammy at the touch. T'Pol suddenly felt something wet under her hand. T'Pol attempted to open her eyes again. She only looked at her hand. It was covered with a very dark bluish substance. But the smell was so familiar. The smell of blood. T'Pol glanced down and gasped in horror at the woman underneath her. The same dark blue liquid dribbled out of a hole in the woman's head. T'Pol turned to her other side and saw a man, dead, staring up at her. T'Pol sat up with extreme pain. She was laying on top a mass of bodies. T'Pol, despite the pain, hurriedly rolled off the bodies and fell to the dirt floor. She cried out in pain from landing on her wound. T'Pol quickly realized that she was in an old, small, wooden shed. Obviously used for disposing of bodies.  
  
"Look! One's alive!"  
  
T'Pol sat up, with a hand at her wound, and saw three men, in pedestrian clothing, staring down at her. One of the men was holding a girl in his arms and he was shaking his head. T'Pol narrowed her eyes. The girl was Vian. Her skin was gray and her eyes wide with fright, but she was dead. T'Pol brought her attention back to the men before her.  
  
One of them knelt down and gently pried T'Pol's hand from her wound. He winced when he saw it.  
  
"You're lucky. Looks like another couple of centimeters and it would've damaged your internal organs."  
  
"I thought it already had." T'Pol said.  
  
She was surprised by the sound of her voice. For she sounded like her grandmother, as raspy as her voice was. She tried to gather saliva to moisten her throat, but none would come forth.  
  
"Are you a doctor?"  
  
A small smile curved the man's lips. "Of a fashion, yes."  
  
"How do I know I can trust you?"  
  
"Do you see any Nazi soldiers here inspecting their dead to make sure they really are dead?"  
  
T'Pol glanced around the room. "No."  
  
"Then I guess you should trust me. Besides, they could come back at any time to take you and the rest to the furnace to be burned. Water?"  
  
"That would be most appreciated."  
  
The man handed her a pitcher. T'Pol brought the cool liquid to her lips and thought she'd never tasted anything as delectable as this. She drank the water in large gulps and didn't put the pitcher down for quite some time.  
  
T'Pol handed the pitcher back to the doctor when she was done.  
  
"My name is Gerib, and you?"  
  
"T'Pol."  
  
"I've noticed your clothes are still in pretty good condition, how long have you been at the camp."  
  
"Three days," T'Pol watched the other man gently put Vian to the ground, "she had also been here for three days."  
  
Gerib turned in the direction of T'Pol's gaze. "Did you know her?"  
  
"We had become companions. I had even fought a guard who was bringing her to decimation," T'Pol paused, "only to have her still being killed and myself put in a just as fatal condition."  
  
Gerib shook his head. "It's not your fault. You could've fought every officer from your barracks and she would've still been put in the decimation."  
  
"She was fifteen years old. She should have lived. But she didn't."  
  
Gerib bit his lip, and then changed the subject. "We should go. I don't think there's anyone else-"  
  
"We got a live one!" One of the men said.  
  
Gerib spun around and hurriedly inspected the woman in the man's arms. From where T'Pol could see, the woman was in critical need of medical care. She'd been shot twice. Once in her chest, and the another in her shoulder.  
  
"We need to get her to the camp immediately," Gerib said, "Get her on the stretcher. Looks like the bullet punctured her right lung. Get T'Pol on a stretcher too. I doubt she'll be able to walk."  
  
* * *  
  
A cool breeze caressed T'Pol's face. The Vulcan breathed in deep the sweet aroma of the tamika that lay growing somewhere in the jungle. T'Pol opened her eyes and stared at the wicker roof above her. Her Vulcan ears could pick up the high pitches of a bird in the distance. Despite her wound, T'Pol felt the best she ever had in a long time.  
  
Gerib had once again mentioned that she was lucky and that her wound would be almost completely healed in one week. But, T'Pol wasn't about to wait an entire week to help her fellow officers.  
  
T'Pol sat up in her bed and glanced over at the woman in the other cot. They were able to extract the bullets and drain the blood from her lung. She was healing nicely, though she'd be bedridden for quite some time. Only one other person was in the medical room, a small girl of around eight with a fever. The girl would often have small seizures in the middle of the night, and a nurse was posted at her bed during the night.  
  
T'Pol stretched her arms and grabbed hold of the walking stick one of the villagers had carved for her. T'Pol had insisted that it wasn't necessary, but Gerib was also adamant and told her, as doctor's orders, to use the stick. But, to T'Pol, it was troublesome and an annoyance.  
  
T'Pol used the stick to help her out of the bed, and she limped a bit to the doorway. Outside the door, it was a picturesque scene of children playing and adults chatting happily.  
  
"T'Pol, I see you're getting back on your feet quickly!"  
  
Ja'an, one of the men who was with Gerib when they found T'Pol, stepped up in front of T'Pol and pat her on the back. T'Pol stumbled forward a little bit. Ja'an brought a hand to his mouth.  
  
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry!"  
  
T'Pol cocked an eyebrow. It was not difficult to realize that Ja'an was a klutz. Constantly tripping over things, knocking things over. But his gifts as a surgeon were exquisite, just as long as he didn't drop his scalpel, which would happen on more than one occasion.  
  
"No need to apologize, Ja'an."  
  
Ja'an twitched his hands nervously. "Well, Gerib just wanted me to come over to see how you were doing."  
  
"I am fine," T'Pol inhaled deeply, sniffing the air filled with the smells of breakfast being cooked, "I would like to eat, though."  
  
Ja'an put his hands up. "Say no more, my dear, you shall have a feast like no other!"  
  
"I will require only minimal amounts of rations. I was fed well last night."  
  
"Don't be silly! All the people of our village eat well! Come! Come with me, please!" Ja'an put his arm out, but T'Pol gracefully ignored it and hobbled along on her walking stick.  
  
* * *  
  
Trip heaved his shovel into the drying mud. It was still clumpy and moist from yesterday's rain. Trip then felt a welcoming breeze and smelled the scent of a distinctive flower. Trip tried to remember the name of a specific flower Barik had shown them. What was it, a tamka? Tamaka? Tamika. That was it. Trip remembered the powerful, lovely scent of the delicate flower, and it hurtfully reminded him of Vian. Anger boiled inside the chief engineer. The kid had no right to die. Trip silently cursed that Colonel-what's-his-name. Cursed him for being so evil and cruel, especially to an innocent child.  
  
Trip suddenly thought about Earth's Holocaust. How many men, women, and children died for no reason at all? Trip remembered what T'Pol had said about the Nazis thinking they were greatly superior to the Jews. How could someone have the gall to murder so many people because of their own prejudices? It was sick. And it's exactly what was happening on this very planet.  
  
Trip's anger encouraged him to work harder. The guards seemed to be happy with this.  
  
"Did you hear about those missing prisoners from the deceased cabin?" Trip heard two officers behind him talking to each other and he listened carefully.  
  
"Ja. They think it's the Karthanians who 'rescued' them," the officer grunted, "those fools think they can save the world."  
  
"No kidding. What's a few wounded prisoners to them," the guard sighed, "how many were missing?"  
  
"Two, I think. That's what I heard anyway. Never can trust those furnace workers."  
  
"Hm, you're right. Just can't trust anyone who burns up dead people for a living," The officer shivered, "creepy fellows."  
  
"Working hard, I see, gentleman."  
  
Trip recognized the icy voice belonging to Commander Lee. She sounded particularly happy.  
  
"Herr Offiziers, I suggest you two get back to work, now."  
  
"Yes, Ma'am."  
  
Trip smirked. It was nice to see someone else getting in trouble for a change.  
  
"Und you, Mr. Tucker."  
  
Trip stopped digging and he turned his head slightly to face the young commander. The malicious woman walked up to Trip and stood above him, glaring. Trip stood to meet her height.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
The woman hesitated and she bit her lip. For the first time since Trip knew this woman, she seemed to be acting, "playful."  
  
"Come with me, Mr. Tucker. I would like to show you something."  
  
Trip's eyes widened. "Uh, ma'am, I think I'd be much more useful, well, uh," Trip pointed to the spot he stood, "here."  
  
The chief engineer hated it when he stuttered, but there wasn't much he could do about it. This evil and wicked woman was coming on to him and he wasn't about to let it go any further.  
  
"Just, follow me, you imbecile. I have a proposition for you."  
  
I bet. Trip thought.  
  
"Really, ma'am. I'm pretty sure I know what you're doing and," he chuckled, "I'm not really all that interested."  
  
Trip wasn't sure why he said that. He'd seen this woman kill a man just by kicking him in the head. And all he did was roll his eyes. But Trip took a horrible chance and picked his shovel up, thrust it into the dirt and went back to his job.  
  
Lee knelt down next to Trip and he stayed motionless. Lee was so close; Trip could smell the soap from her hair. Lee whispered into his ear.  
  
"You have no idea what you've missed." Lee stood and walked away.  
  
Trip stayed in that same position staring at the ground before him for more than two minutes.  
  
* * *  
  
"Come, T'Pol, please, eat more!"  
  
"Thank you, Ja'an, but I am quite satisfied." T'Pol put her glass down and removed the napkin from her lap.  
  
The day had grown warm, but not unbearable as it had in the camp, especially in the barracks. But Gerib still kept a fan in the medical hut for the patients. At first, T'Pol thought the fan was primitive and naïve, but she soon learned to appreciate the cool breeze it offered.  
  
There was a small table in the middle of the room were T'Pol was served her breakfast. She'd done what she promised and did not eat much regardless of Ja'an's persistent proposals that she eat more.  
  
"I am anxious to make a plan to rescue my companions." T'Pol said.  
  
Ja'an choked on his drink. "What did you say?"  
  
"My captain and chief engineer are still at the compound. I must get them out."  
  
Ja'an shook his head one too many times. "No, no, no, no, no. What, are you crazy?!"  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
Ja'an laughed nervously. "We can't take anyone from the compound! It's impossible! It's suicide! Besides, you're not completely healed to-"  
  
"I'm am not exceedingly concerned about myself. I am only worried about my companions."  
  
"I'm sorry, T'Pol, it's just not permitted! No one can get into or out of that camp unless escorted by one of the guards!" T'Pol narrowed her eyes. "Really."  
  
Ja'an nodded.  
  
"Ja'an, I have an idea, you're welcome to help me or not."  
  
* * *  
  
To Be Continued. 


	7. Part 7

Chapter 11  
  
"Cap'n, get up, you'll never believe what I heard today." Trip whispered.  
  
Archer rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Trip, this is the first time today I've been able to lie down, please, go back to bed." Archer put his arm over his eyes.  
  
"Cap'n, I'm telling ya, you'll want to know what I got to say!"  
  
"In the morning." He grumbled.  
  
"It can't wait until morning!"  
  
Archer mumbled as he sat up in the cot. "Fine, what is it?"  
  
"Well," Trip said, "I was kinda eavesdropping on these two guards, and I heard one of 'em say that two prisoners were missing from the deceased cabin-"  
  
"The what?"  
  
"The deceased cabin, where they keep all the bodies after decimation or somethin'. Anyway, they mentioned somethin' about Karthanians-  
  
"Who?"  
  
"I think they were the guys that tried to help us at the attack. Anyway, these Kathanians took two injured prisoners from there!"  
  
Trip waited for the captain's smile in understanding, but his face remained in a deep frown.  
  
"Cap'n, that means that T'Pol could still be alive!"  
  
Archer sighed, but his expression didn't change. "Trip, how many people were in that decimation?"  
  
Trip shrugged. "Twenty, twenty-five."  
  
"So, what are the chances, if your information is correct, that T'Pol was one of the those survivors?"  
  
Trip bit his lip. "I know the odds aren't so great, but it still means that there's a chance. And that's a lot more than what we got here."  
  
Trip had a point. But there wasn't necessarily anything they could do at the moment, and no way to get any verification that T'Pol was one of the survivors.unless they had help from the inside. But who here would help them?  
  
"Perhaps I may be of assistance."  
  
Archer and Trip turned around to see a most unexpected visitor.  
  
* * *  
  
"Do you have any communicators? Any at all?"  
  
Ja'an was rummaging through different little gadgets on the large table before him. It was around 02100 hours and Ja'an yawned as he picked up different gadgets, examined them for a moment, and tossed them back into the pile. Something caught Ja'an's eye and then he grabbed two devices and held them up excitedly.  
  
"Walki talkies!" He exclaimed.  
  
T'Pol stared at the gadgets in Ja'an's hands, unimpressed.  
  
"And just what is a 'walkie talkie?' "  
  
Ja'an stood from his chair and tapped the devices several times. "It's a communicator! See, if someone is carrying this one, they can talk into it to another person who has this one."  
  
T'Pol cocked an eyebrow. "A primitive means of communication, but it may be useful."  
  
Ja'an's expression saddened. "Uh, well, they don't exactly work."  
  
T'Pol dropped her head a little bit. "If they do not work, then why did you even bother showing them to me?"  
  
"You come from a ship with many wonders greater than this. I thought you'd be able to fix them."  
  
"I'm a scientist, Ja'an, not an engineer. Besides, I need to find something to contact my ship with."  
  
Ja'an's eyes widened. "Oh, that's not possible. We don't have anything as sophisticated as that."  
  
"I don't understand; if your enemies were able to come to Earth two hundred years ago, you should've had warp drive. Which means all of you should be considerably more advanced in technology than the Humans are."  
  
"I know, I know. But when the Nazis found these new ways to torture us, everything, every console, and every computer chip that was more advanced than the Humans was taken away and destroyed. They changed an entire civilization to be like the Earth Nazis."  
  
"I find that a bit presumptuous."  
  
"Heh, presumptuous and about a thousand other words my people had for it."  
  
"Why did you not fight back?"  
  
"You think we didn't try?" Ja'an tossed his hands up, "we had people from all across the planet come and try to fight them off. But, before we knew it, our government was completely demolished and replaced with anarchy. No one was able to control anything. Our leaders fled to other planets, the SS took over the law enforcement. It was chaos. And it still is. It's all about overpowering the weak and eventually 'filtering' them out. They say a chain can't survive with a weak link. We are considered the weak link. And they want us dead."  
  
Neither of them said anything for a while. But, finally, T'Pol gave in and snatched the communicators from Ja'an's hand. She sat down, and began to, as Commander Tucker would say, "tinker" with them.  
  
* * *  
  
"Who are you?" Archer said to the guard.  
  
"My name doesn't matter. All that does matter is that I'm willing to help you."  
  
"Well," Trip said, "we have to call ya somethin'."  
  
The man wavered a bit. "You may call me, Lieutenant."  
  
"That's it," Archer said, "just Lieutenant?"  
  
"Just Lieutenant."  
  
"Fair enough, *Lieutenant*," Trip said, and he stood, "now why the hell would you want to help us?"  
  
"Doesn't matter. Now, please, come with me, the both of you."  
  
"Now wait a minute," Archer also stood, "I want to know just what is going on. And I'm not going anywhere until you tell me."  
  
Lieutenant sighed. "Alright, I'm a spy from a nearby village of the Karthanians. I'm here to tell you that your companion, Sub-Commander T'Pol, is alive and recovering."  
  
"What did you say?" Archer said in shock.  
  
Lieutenant sighed again, like his answer that he gave the first time should have been understood.  
  
"The information that you, Mr. Tucker, had heard from the guards is true. T'Pol will be fine. But she is becoming too anxious to rescue you, so I was ordered to risk blowing my cover and get you out of here. This isn't your war."  
  
"What's going on?" Loupa asked groggily as he appeared from behind Trip. "What does he want?" Loupa then said angrily.  
  
"Easy there, kid. He says he's undercover for the Karthanians. Says he can help us."  
  
"No." Lieutenant said. "I can't help the boy."  
  
"Why not?" Archer said.  
  
"My orders were strict that I shall only remove the Humans. The boy is too much of a risk."  
  
Loupa gasped. "Well, I oughta-"  
  
"Settle down, Loupa." Trip said and he put an arm out in front of the boy.  
  
"What are you guys doing?" Barik came from the shadow of his bunk, rubbing his eyes.  
  
Lieutenant groaned. "Listen to me, if we keep this up, the whole barrack will want to come with us."  
  
"If you're going to get us out of here, you're going to take our unit. That's me, Trip, Loupa and Barik."  
  
"But, sir, it's not possi-"  
  
"Don't give me that crap, Lieutenant. It's all of us or none of us. That's the deal."  
  
"There wasn't supposed to be a deal in the first place!" Lieutenant whispered harshly.  
  
The man turned around and swore to himself in a language Archer wasn't familiar with. Lieutenant heaved a sigh and then turned back around.  
  
"Alright," He pointed his finger at Archer, "but just your unit." "Deal."  
  
* * *  
  
The device in T'Pol's hand sparked, fizzled, but became useless once again. The Vulcan bristled slightly and then calmly put the communicator down. T'Pol closed her eyes and concentrated on her breathing.  
  
"Frustration is a Human emotion," She said softly, "frustration is a Human emotion."  
  
"T'Pol!" The Vulcan whirled around and saw Ja'an, with a flashlight in his hand, squinting at her.  
  
"T'Pol, you've been twiddling with those for two hours, don't you think you should give it a rest?"  
  
"I must find a way to contact my ship as soon as possible before they send a rescue team."  
  
Ja'an shook his head and lit other lanterns in the room. "I'm telling you, there isn't anything sophisticated enough! It's useless to try."  
  
"Striving to reach a goal is not useless."  
  
"It is when you know that the goal is impossible!" Ja'an pulled a chair up to the table and snatched a trinket to fiddle with.  
  
"It is not impossible, Ja'an. You know of my rescue plan. You promised to help."  
  
Ja'an groaned. "I know, I know. But it's so risky!"  
  
"Life itself is a risk. I will not abandon my companions, Ja'an."  
  
The surgeon muttered to himself and flung his device onto the table. "Yeah, yeah. When are we going to get started?"  
  
"Tomorrow. Before dawn."  
  
"Right," Ja'an shook his head, "I can't believe I'm doing this."  
  
* * *  
  
"Shhh! You have to be quiet!" Lieutenant said as he locked the barrack doors.  
  
Trip recoiled. "Sorry, didn't mean to close the door so loudly."  
  
Loupa scoffed. "And this guy said *I* was going to be a problem."  
  
Trip chuckled and playfully hit Loupa's shoulder.  
  
"Gentlemen?" Lieutenant said gallingly.  
  
Trip and Loupa straightened. "This way; and for heaven's sake, be quiet!"  
  
Lieutenant turned the flashlight off and inched his way to the end of the barrack wall and peeked around the corner. He turned back around nearly bumping into Archer. Lieutenant put his index finger to his lips.  
  
"There are two guards at door to the watchtower," Lieutenant whispered, "Now, listen carefully, I unlocked the front gate before. I'm going to distract the guards at the watchtower door while you go through the gate. Go through one at a time. Here, take these."  
  
Lieutenant handed each of them a pistol, from a bag he'd been carrying, except for Loupa. Lieutenant gave him a rather large hunting knife.  
  
"Sweet!" The boy said as he eyeballed the blade.  
  
Archer and Trip stared at the weapons in their hands and glanced up at Lieutenant.  
  
The man took out his own pistol and demonstrated how to load it. "As for firing, it's pretty much just like a phase pistol. But be careful, it'll spring back on ya."  
  
Barik shoved his pistol in-between his belt and put his hand up. "Hold on a sec. Those guards are practically right next to that gate, how do you expect them not to see us?"  
  
Lieutenant pulled a flask from his vest pocket and shook it gently. "It's ale," the man smirked, "but my own special recipe. It'll knock them out in two minutes flat."  
  
Trip grinned. "It's a classic, but it's sure to work."  
  
"But," Lieutenant said, "there's still a guard in the watchtower. So stay in the shadows and please, be quiet." Lieutenant emphasized the last two words.  
  
Lieutenant put the flask back in his pocket and walked defiantly out into the square. The two guards by the watchtower were instantly alert and demanded the man's business there.  
  
Lieutenant scoffed. "Ah, Commander Lee said the night guards were getting too soft. Fallin' asleep. Needed an extra person to keep watch. Can't say I like it too much. I'd rather be sleeping in my own bunk than watching out for imaginary escapees."  
  
The guards eased their shoulders a bit and kept a looser grip on their weapons.  
  
"Ja. You can say that again. No fool would be stupid enough to run away in this part of night, especially without any weapons. Everybody knows the most dangerous creatures hunt in the dead of night."  
  
"Yeah," the other guard said, "the only weapon any prisoner could have is a shovel or a potato peeler."  
  
Lieutenant chortled. "Hey, at least I brought a little drink to make this job a bit easier." Lieutenant pulled the flask from his vest pocket and held it up.  
  
"You gotta be kidding me! What kind?"  
  
"Just some classic ale. It'll warm you up too."  
  
The guard laughed softly, snatched the flask, unscrewed the cap, and took a swig. After some time to taste it, he nodded in encouragement to his fellow guard. The man grabbed the flask and drank some with zeal.  
  
The first guard shook his head. "Wow, some powerful stuff, isn't it? Sure it's just ale?"  
  
"You betcha."  
  
The guard swayed a bit. He tried to speak, but his words were garbled. His companion tried to steady him, only to fall to the ground in a drunken state.  
  
Lieutenant quickly put the flask back in his pocket and dragged the guards to a dark corner. Once that was done, he walked a little out into the square so the guard from the watchtower would see him as he pretended to patrol the grounds.  
  
Trip shook his head. "I dunno about this. There's too much variability."  
  
"Give it a chance, Trip. This may be our only ticket out of here."  
  
"That's what worries me."  
  
Archer could see Lieutenant searching with his eyes to make sure no one was coming. Then he looked straight at Archer and ever-so-slightly nodded his head.  
  
"Okay," Archer said, "I'll go first and then Loupa will go. Don't come until Lieutenant gives the signal. And follow my exact route."  
  
"Right." Loupa said.  
  
Archer backed up into a shadow cast on a wall of a building. Archer could just make out the indistinct form of a guard up in the watchtower. He dawdled idly.  
  
The gate was still about fifteen meters away. Archer decided to crouch down and continued staying low. The gate didn't seem to be getting any closer, but Archer was just moving very slowly. He decided to pick up the pace.  
  
That's better. Archer thought as the gate loomed in closer.  
  
Archer suddenly heard a booming voice from the watchtower, and he froze in mid-stride. Archer took a chance and looked up at the watchtower. The guard was guffawing loudly and swaying back and forth grumbling loudly about someone who drank all his whiskey. He was as drunk as a cow that ate too many apples. And that was fine. It'd make it harder for the guard to detect anyone on the ground.  
  
After what seemed like ages, Archer made it to the gate and gave it a tentative push. It moved open with ease. Archer emptied a lungful of air and hurriedly walked through, then motioned to Lieutenant that he was clear.  
  
Lieutenant gave Loupa the signal that all was clear and he made it to the gate quickly. The same thing went on, undetected, until Lieutenant casually walked over to the gate, closed it, locked it, and spit on it just to say what he really thought of the place.  
  
To Be Continued. 


	8. Part 8

Hey peoples! Just wanted to say, once again, how much I LOVE all your great reviews! They are very much appreciated!  
  
  
  
  
  
And, I also wanted to say that there will be a relatively large setback in my story. I will not be able to start the next chapter until next Sunday because I will be away at camp. But, I'm sure as I'll be sitting outside enjoying the wilderness (even though it's gonna be stinkin' hot!), I'll be thinking a lot about my next chapter and will be writing more rather rapidly when I get home. It'll probably be done by Tuesday or Wednesday. So, c ya'll! Good luck with your stories! Auf Wiedersehen!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 12  
  
"We're far enough away, we will rest here for right now until dawn." Lieutenant put his bag down and stretched.  
  
Archer sat down and rubbed sweat from his brow. Loupa practically fell to the ground and leaned his head on a rock.  
  
"If anyone wakes me, I'll kill him." Loupa grumbled.  
  
Trip, on the other hand, felt great. The night air smelled wonderful, and he had high energy. He could've used a cold shower though.  
  
"Hey, Cap'n, I saw a little waterfall a few meters that way, mind if I-"  
  
"Go ahead, but bring your gun with you." Archer said.  
  
Trip took his gun and a flashlight and followed the sound of the slow gush of water. After a couple of minutes, Trip found the pond and the petite, but steady waterfall emitting from the small cliff above.  
  
Trip breathed in the scent of fresh, cool water and grinned in satisfaction.  
  
Perfect. He thought.  
  
Trip unzipped his uniform and laid it out on the grass next to his shoes. Trip quivered from the breeze and left his blue undergarments on. He then waded through the shallow water to the cascade and enjoyed the crisp smack of the water on his skin. That's when Trip heard the twig snap.  
  
Trip turned around with a start and pulled his pistol out.  
  
"Cap'n? Lieutenant?" No one answered. Trip squinted into the darkness to try and make out any shapes. Only the tree branches moved in the steady breeze.  
  
"Who's there?" Still no answer.  
  
"Now, you listen here! I'm armed, and I'm very ready for any ass kicking you wanna bring! So it's best you just turn around and go back to wherever you came from!"  
  
The jungle was silent. Another branch broke; this time, even closer. But it only frustrated the chief engineer even more.  
  
"Hey! Are you gunna just hide like a coward or show yourself?!" Trip waited for an answer he figured wouldn't come forth.  
  
Then, Trip heard a rustling and someone running. Trip spun around and saw a man, with his uniform and shoes, running away, very fast.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing! Come back-hey!" Trip clambered out of the pond and ran in the direction of the man.  
  
"Hey! Come back, you thief! Don't you run away from me!"  
  
The dark shadow Trip ran after was getting farther and farther away. The man was running at full speed, which was a much faster speed than Trip could ever match. The engineer stopped, out of breath, and watched the small outline of the man getting further out of view.  
  
Trip clenched his fists. "Arggghhh! Geeze, son of a-"  
  
"Trip?"  
  
The engineer turned around to have the beam of a flashlight in his eyes. He shielded the light with his arm. Archer, Loupa, Barik and Lieutenant stared at the chief engineer with quizzical looks etched on their faces. Rain suddenly started to fall slowly and Trip rubbed his arms from the cold.  
  
"Trip, why were you yelling," Archer eyed Trip questionably, "and where's your uniform?"  
  
* * *  
  
"Ouch!" Ja'an stumbled away from a low branch that scratched his face, only to fall into a prickly bush. "Ow! Mother, that hurts!"  
  
"Ja'an, please remain silent." T'Pol helped the man up and away from bush. Ja'an glowered at the shrub with a puckered brow and his hands curled into fists.  
  
"Ja'an, it is only a plant. Let's go."  
  
Ja'an followed T'Pol and glared at the bush until it was out of sight. Then he proceeded to trip over a tree root.  
  
T'Pol cocked an eyebrow as she helped Ja'an up for the hundredth time. "Perhaps you weren't the best choice for this job."  
  
Ja'an's eyes widened. "Come on, T'Pol. It's just so dark! And it's raining."  
  
"Right. I believe the compound is only a few kilometers away."  
  
"How do you know?" Ja'an asked, narrowly avoiding a large rock.  
  
T'Pol pointed to the cloudy sky. Ja'an looked up and saw a search light in the distance.  
  
"They have it on every night," T'Pol said as she took a water bottle from her pack, "we must keep moving, Ja'an."  
  
"You know, T'Pol. You should still be resting. You're limping a bit."  
  
"I am aware of that. But there is no time for rest. Not now."  
  
"Yeah, I know-oomph!" Ja'an glanced up from the ground, his face caked with mud.  
  
"What did you trip over?"  
  
Ja'an stood and wiped some of the mud off his face and pants. "Don't know." He turned around and yelped. An arm stuck out from the brush; an arm with a blue sleeve.  
  
T'Pol felt a lump form in her throat as she stepped past Ja'an to the body. T'Pol knelt down and turned on her flashlight. Red blood formed a puddle next to the body, or what was left of it. The head and leg were torn off. But the clothing was unmistakable. It was a standard Star Fleet uniform.  
  
T'Pol could hear Ja'an smack his hand to his mouth to try and keep down his dinner. The rain began to diminish.  
  
"He-he was most likely attacked by a pa'lapus."  
  
"What is that?" T'Pol said as she looked at the rank on the collar.  
  
"It's a large, predatory animal. It hunts only at night; in these parts. It has," Ja'an gulped, "large horns. And lots of big teeth. Very dangerous. Very territorial too."  
  
T'Pol was silent as she took a large leaf and covered the upper half of the body.  
  
"He was one of yours, wasn't he?"  
  
T'Pol nodded. "Our chief engineer. Commander Charles Tucker the Third."  
  
"I'm sorry, T'Pol."  
  
The Vulcan nodded.  
  
"Do-I mean, should we say a prayer?"  
  
"I'm not sure what religion Mr. Tucker had been brought up with. I know that he despised the Vulcan ways, so I will neglect from reciting any of the prayers I know."  
  
"Well, it doesn't have to be a prayer. Maybe a few words of what he meant to you, or how he will be missed?"  
  
T'Pol thought for a moment. "That sounds suitable."  
  
T'Pol knelt down and crossed her hands in the Vulcan meditative way. Ja'an did the same after playing with his fingers a moment to get them in the right position. T'Pol paused, and then began.  
  
"Commander Charles Tucker the Third lived his short life well. He served aboard the starship Enterprise: NX 01 for seven months-"  
  
"No, T'Pol."  
  
T'Pol shifted her gaze to Ja'an.  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You're listing facts. Say something about what he enjoyed doing most, like did he have any kids or a wife that he left behind. You know, emotional things."  
  
"I am not an emotional person."  
  
"You don't have to be, just-say it!"  
  
T'Pol sighed and gazed upon the body.  
  
"From what I've observed of the chief engineer, Charles Tucker was cheerful and an inspiration to much of the crew. He was usually there to 'settle' the mood with incongruous humor. His most loyal friend was his captain, Jonathon Archer whom will probably miss this man the most-"  
  
"Your captain!" Ja'an exclaimed.  
  
"Ja'an, your interruptions are most irritating."  
  
"No, your captain was one of your companions stuck down here, right?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Then if Mr. Tucker is here, doesn't that mean that your captain is possibly somewhere out there?!" Ja'an pointed into the jungle.  
  
"That would be logical."  
  
"Of course it would be! Except, where do we look?"  
  
T'Pol gave a quick sweep of the area around her. She then pointed next to the body. "Footprints. From the beast."  
  
T'Pol put her flashlight to the ground and followed the prints. "They lead over here, there are Mr. Tucker's footprints. Then they lead that way."  
  
T'Pol stepped over a piece of torn flesh now covered with maggots.  
  
"Ew." Ja'an said as he also stepped over it.  
  
"You're a surgeon, Ja'an. I'm surprised you'd found the body and the pieces left behind that offensive."  
  
"T'Pol, when I work on bodies it's all very concise and perfect incisions. This is vicious!"  
  
T'Pol suddenly stopped and Ja'an bumped into her. "Sorry. Why did we stop?"  
  
"It has just occurred to me that there is a twist in our situation."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Captain Archer and Commander Tucker would have stayed together when they escaped. This beast was obviously large and could have killed Mr. Tucker and Captain Archer. They both, most likely, didn't have any weapons and couldn't fight off a creature of that size."  
  
"But your captain could've still gotten away!"  
  
"I don't think so, Ja'an. That large of a beast had to have needed to eat more than only a leg and a head. Mr. Tucker may have been the second part of the 'meal.' "  
  
"And that's why your captain's footprints aren't here."  
  
"Precisely. Mr. Tucker was most likely running away. The shallow imprints leading for such a long way would be the indicator.  
  
They were both silent.  
  
"Then, I guess, we can't do much more here, can we?"  
  
"No." The word was thick in her mouth, and her tongue felt heavy. She had failed to help her crewmembers who were so desperately in need of assistance.  
  
* * *  
  
"They WHAT?!" Schneider boomed.  
  
"They escaped, Colonel. The entire unit." Lee said calmly.  
  
"This-this-this is unacceptable!" Schneider raged, "Completely unacceptable! How can this happen?!"  
  
"It couldn't have happened unless they had help from the inside."  
  
The Colonel was pacing his office and he stopped at Lee's words. "You mean a spy." Schneider said, more as a statement than a question.  
  
"Yes."  
  
Schneider's face burned red with fury. "EVERY GUARD IN THIS CAMP IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A BACKGROUND CHECK!!!" Schneider was screaming now, but Lee was forever calm.  
  
"Every guard in this camp *does* get a background check, Colonel. The spy obviously wrote his own résumé."  
  
Schneider walked up face-to-face with Lee. "May Ling, we are supposed to recognize fakes."  
  
"Well this time, Colonel, we didn't."  
  
"Don't defy me, child. I know what we can and cannot do. And what we can do, is recognize fakes!"  
  
"You put too much trust in your officers, Colonel. Not all of them share the exact same beliefs as you do. For all we know, the officer hired to check the résumés is also a spy!"  
  
Schneider paced the office again, rubbing his chin. "Do we have a location of the nearest Karthanian camp yet?"  
  
"Yes. It is a large camp. But it should be fairly effortless to annihilate."  
  
"Ready our troops. Destroy the camp."  
  
"Do we take any prisoners?"  
  
"No," Schneider stared down at the photograph of the woman on desk. He then waved a hand, "kill them all."  
  
* * *  
  
"He was most likely an escaped prisoner. It's not uncommon to see a few stray ones around these parts." Lieutenant said as he took some clothes from his bag.  
  
"Yeah, well, is it not uncommon for them to be dirty rotten thieves?" Trip said as grabbed the clothing.  
  
"It's not that simple. These people have nothing. If there is any chance for them to find something of use, they'll take that chance, without hesitation. They're desperate."  
  
"So, desperate enough to be dirty rotten thieves. Okay. I get it."  
  
Lieutenant glanced down at his wristwatch. "It'll be dawn in a few hours. We need to get back to the village."  
  
* * *  
  
"We are ready to launch the attack, Colonel." Lee said, now dressed in a military uniform. Lee smoothed a finger over her ka-bar and then put the knife in its sheath.  
  
"I can sense your excitement, Commander." The Colonel said, staring out the office window.  
  
"I've been waiting to launch this attack for quite some time."  
  
"You're bloodthirsty, May Ling. Just like your father."  
  
"My father was a coward," Lee smirked and her eyes grew yet even icier, "the man begged for his pathetic life. He begged like a dog."  
  
Schneider's jaw dropped at Lee's words and he swung around to face her. "May Ling," his breath caught, "it was you?"  
  
"Who else hated him more Colonel?"  
  
To Be Continued. 


	9. Part 9

Hey Peoples! I'm back! Sorry this took me a little longer (okay, a lot longer, but who's counting?). I had a busy week, or two weeks really, or was it three? I don't exactly like the beginning of this chapter much, but I was a little annoyed by the fly that was buzzing around my head for an hour in the cabin at camp (but, hey, how can I complain, it was air- conditioned! Whoo-hoo!).  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 13  
  
"Gerib is gonna be pretty mad." Ja'an said. He was now leading their trek back to the camp.  
  
"That does not concern me." T'Pol said.  
  
Ja'an dropped his hands to his sides. "It shouldn't have to. He's gonna be mad at *me* for letting you do this!"  
  
"You did not 'let' me do anything. I would've chosen to leave whether you wanted me to or not."  
  
Ja'an had nothing to say to that. "I really am sorry about your companions."  
  
"You have nothing to be sorry for."  
  
"No, this isn't your war-"  
  
"And we wouldn't have been here if the captain had taken my advice."  
  
Ja'an took a double take. "You're a little sour. Don't you feel any grief for them?"  
  
"It is unfortunate that they are dead, but it was their own fault they were here. They knew the risks," T'Pol paused, "they were reckless."  
  
"But they were your friends!"  
  
T'Pol looked up quickly. "They were my fellow officers."  
  
Ja'an noted her offense and questioned it. "How can you say it like that? You served aboard the same ship together, for, what, seven months?"  
  
"And two weeks and four days. But it makes no difference. A steward can work on board a ship for years and never personally know their captain."  
  
"But you're not a steward, T'Pol. You're a Science Officer, and the second in command of Enterprise!"  
  
T'Pol dwelled on this. "Not anymore. When, or if, I return, I will be Enterprise's commanding officer until we return to Earth."  
  
Ja'an whistled. "Big responsibility."  
  
"One Jonathon Archer obviously shouldn't have had."  
  
"Come on, T'Pol. Give the guy a break."  
  
T'Pol didn't answer. "How far away are we from the camp?"  
  
"Eh, about another hour to hike. We should be back right before breakfast. And that's a good thing," Ja'an rubbed his stomach, "I'm gettin' pretty hungry."  
  
"You've finished all of your rations already?"  
  
Ja'an appeared to be hurt by the remark. "Walking for several hours can bring on quite an appetite, Sub-Commander!"  
  
"Ja'an, you had rations adequate for several *days*." T'Pol obtained her own rations containing some bread and fruit.  
  
"Here, eat these if you are that ravenous."  
  
* * *  
  
Hoshi squeezed some of the water out of her hair and then brushed it back. The young ensign couldn't help but contain her excitement. They were finally *doing* something, instead of just sitting around waiting on a miracle. Hoshi was worried sick about her friends, and she wasn't afraid to admit it. She even, at times, missed that little pointy-eared infuriation called T'Pol.  
  
I must be ill. Hoshi thought.  
  
Hoshi hurriedly dried her hair and put it up. Then she heard the door chime.  
  
"Come in." Hoshi turned around when she heard the swoosh of the door closing.  
  
"Good morning, Hoshi."  
  
"Morning, Lieutenant."  
  
The Englishman seemed tense and fiddled with his hands.  
  
Lt. Reed didn't say anything. Hoshi leaned her head forward a bit until Malcolm noticed.  
  
"Lieutenant, are you all right?"  
  
"All right? Dear, of course I'm all right, why would you ask that?"  
  
Hoshi was confused by the question. "Well, it's just that you came in here and you're not saying anything. It's kind of creepy."  
  
Malcolm chuckled nervously. "What do you mean-oh. Right. Yes. *I* came *here*. That's right," Malcolm scratched his head, "I was, um, only checking up on you, you know, just making sure you're, um, you know.healthy, and all that good cheer."  
  
Hoshi positioned her hands on her hips. "Uh huh. Healthy. Well, Dr. Phlox gave me a check-up two days ago, so I'm fine, and.healthy."  
  
Malcolm tried to calm himself and look like this was exactly what he wanted to talk about. "Yes, well, that's very good, just wanted to check up on my officers, seeing that this could very well be a conceivably extremely horribly dangerous experience-oh, Malcolm, just say it." Reed struggled with himself. He took a deep break and then slowly let it out.  
  
"Okay. Hoshi, bottom line, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't go on this mission-"  
  
Hoshi's mouth rounded into a big "O."  
  
"What?! No friggin' way!"  
  
"Hoshi, please, listen-"  
  
"NO! I've wasted enough damn time up here and I want to go down to that planet and kick some ass!"  
  
Hoshi was instantly shocked by her words and she covered her mouth with her hand. Malcolm tried to stifle a grin.  
  
"Hoshi, I had no idea you had such.enthusiasm."  
  
Hoshi put both her hands on her forehead with her fingers spread out. "Malcolm, I need to do *something.*"  
  
Malcolm's expression turned to sincerity. "You're very much worried for them, aren't you?"  
  
"Of course I am!" Hoshi started to shout, but calmed herself.  
  
Malcolm put his hand up. "Okay, okay," he sighed, "We'll be leaving at 0800, sharp."  
  
Hoshi nodded. "Thank you, sir."  
  
Malcolm pointed his finger at the communications officer. "Make sure you stay alive out there."  
  
* * *  
  
"What time is it?" Archer asked.  
  
Lieutenant glanced up at the rising sun. "Around 0630. We'll reach the camp in a about an hour, just in time for breakfast."  
  
"Well, that's a very good thing," Trip said as he stared at the peculiar ration Lieutenant had given him, "I don't think I could eat another piece of this-what exactly is it?"  
  
"A nutritional supplement. Doesn't taste much better than the stuff you were fed at the compound, but it has the right nourishment in it."  
  
"Yeah, but what does it actually *consist* of?" Trip smacked the hard, yellowish stick on a tree branch. It thumped against the limb.  
  
"I'm not entirely sure."  
  
Loupa took out his own ration and bit down hard. "Ow!" Loupa put a hand to his cheek and groaned, "I think I chipped a tooth."  
  
"Why don't you all simply stop complaining and eat," Barik said bitterly. Everyone stopped walking and stared at the man. Barik continued, "These rations are the only food we have. Besides, we're only an hour away from the camp. Certainly you can hold back for just one more hour!"  
  
It was somewhat of a surprise to hear anything come from Barik. He'd been staying understandably quiet for a rather long time. It was now obvious that the grief of his daughter's and entire family's death had passed and was replaced with anger, the second stage of mourning.  
  
Archer wasn't sure what Barik's anger would be like.  
  
Trip glimpsed down at the yellow stick and sighed. "He's right. It's better'n nothin'." Trip stared at the stick again and then reluctantly bit down.  
  
* * *  
  
Ja'an pushed a branch out of his way and pointed ahead. "There's the road. We're nearly there."  
  
T'Pol didn't answer.  
  
Ja'an scanned the area around him. "I don't see anybody. Come on." Ja'an stepped out onto the road and listened again for any sounds of a nearby truck. T'Pol walked in front of Ja'an and across the road.  
  
"T'Pol! You're supposed to wait for the signal!" Ja'an put his hands out in front of him.  
  
"My hearing is exceptional and I did not detect any life forms."  
  
"T'Pol, that's not the point," Ja'an said, stepping over a falling tree, "I'm the leader of this little escapade and I'm supposed to tell you when to stop and go! That's, like, the rules of commanding a mission! You can't just go and break those rules! It's unethical! It's immoral! It's-"  
  
"Ja'an. Stop talking." T'Pol put a hand out in front of the man.  
  
"See?! There you go again! Giving me orders when it's not your mission-"  
  
"Ja'an." T'Pol said, more forcefully, "look."  
  
Ja'an's eyes flickered from T'Pol's disturbed expression to place before him. Ja'an put both hands to his mouth.  
  
"Oh, my God. They've found us!"  
  
* * *  
  
"Just beyond that road is the village." Lieutenant said.  
  
"Why is it so close to the road?" Archer asked.  
  
"The Karthanian's spies need easy access to the road to get back to the concentration camp. We were hesitant, at first, to build it so close, but we didn't have much of a choice. Come on."  
  
Archer had given up on the "nutritional supplement" and decided to wait for breakfast at the village. Trip and the rest of the party had done the same.  
  
"It's just over here-oh, my." Lieutenant stopped in his tracks and gazed upon the demolished village. Archer, Trip, Barik and Loupa stared with disbelief.  
  
"This-this isn't supposed to happen," Lieutenant stepped out into the ruins, "they weren't supposed to know we were here! They, oh, God-" Lieutenant sprinted to a body near a burned down hut.  
  
"Nia!" Lieutenant knelt down and felt for the woman's pulse. Lieutenant took his finger away and let his head drop into his hands.  
  
"She's dead," he whispered between tears, "Everyone is dead. They destroyed everything."  
  
Archer stooped down and held an ash-covered doll in his hands. "Shouldn't we search for survivors?" He asked dimly.  
  
Lieutenant shook his head. "No. They would've made sure everyone was dead."  
  
"This is unbelievable." Trip said, "How could anyone be this cruel?"  
  
"It's part of their values, Mr. Tucker. If you aren't the perfect race, you don't belong in this world, or any other. It's just the way it goes." Lieutenant stood and sheepishly wiped away the tears staining his eyes.  
  
Trip walked up to Lieutenant. "Who was she?"  
  
"Nia. She was a nurse. Only twenty-four." Lieutenant scowled, "she didn't deserve this. All she wanted to do was help people."  
  
Archer suddenly whipped his head around. "A nurse?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Archer stared into Trip's eyes. "T'Pol."  
  
Neither of the Starfleet officers wasted any time before searching through burned huts and tents other wreckage.  
  
"Captain, Commander!" Lieutenant said, "you don't understand-everyone is gone!"  
  
Despite Lieutenant's remonstrations, Archer and Trip searched frantically. Barik sat down and brought his knees to his chest. Lieutenant did the same. Loupa, on the other hand, stood and gazed upon the to two frenzied men.  
  
"T'Pol?!" Trip shouted.  
  
"Did you check over there, Trip?"  
  
"I'm not done here." Trip brushed away some burned debris until a hand was revealed. Trip swallowed and kept removing debris. Trip gasped and leapt back. "Oh, Jesus."  
  
Archer hurried over to Trip. Covered with ashes, blood, and more debris, laid three small children.  
  
"They're dead." Trip remarked. The engineer then stood and walked away. Archer tore his gaze away from the children. The starship captain could the feel the immense anger quickly burning inside him. But, somehow, he felt that all this was their fault, and their's alone.  
  
* * *  
  
"Ja'an, will you be all right?"  
  
"I don't-I don't know."  
  
Ja'an and T'Pol were sitting down on a log about a mile from the demolished village. T'Pol was thinking about all she had lost in only four days. And how much she might still lose from the days to come.  
  
Ja'an had his head bent down in his hands and he wept. T'Pol could feel the sorrow for her officers. But that wasn't possible. It was an emotion. Vulcans didn't experience emotion. Or so she thought. Since her year on Earth, and her time being stationed on Enterprise, T'Pol had seen emotion like she never had before. Happiness. Infuriation. Sadness. Somehow, the Human's experienced emotion, yet still worked rationally and efficiently. Of course any Vulcan elder and or the Vulcan High Command would never admit this. With emotion, there is no logic. This had been the Vulcan philosophy since the days of Surak. But perhaps, just perhaps, they were wrong.  
  
T'Pol quickly dismissed the idea.  
  
"Where the nearest Karthanian camp from here?" T'Pol asked.  
  
Ja'an wiped the tears away with him arm. "Um, about a three day walk. It'd be much faster though if we had a truck or something.  
  
T'Pol lifted her chin up. "Indeed it would."  
  
To Be Continued. 


	10. Part 10Conclusion

Oh my. Was the last chapter that bad? Yikes. Well, hopefully this one might spark at least one review. Besides, it's the conclusion! That's right! I'm gonna finish this if it kills me! Cause, to tell the truth, I've never, um, actually finished a long story before. But, I know how to end this, plus there will be an epilogue attached with this.  
  
And I have a bunch of ideas for another Enterprise story, which I've already started called:  
  
"L.G.L: Little Girl Lost." First chapter comes out soon!  
  
And, I'd just like to say, since this is my first fanfic, I'd really like to thank EVERYONE who reviewed. At first, I didn't think I was going to do much with this story and all of you guys who reviewed really helped to give me that inspiring boost. I've had the idea for The Forth Reich for some time now, and I'm glad it's finally out there for other teens to read. Thank you SO much all of you wonderful people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (  
  
  
  
Chapter 14: Conclusion  
  
"What do we do now?" Loupa asked.  
  
Archer and Trip had stopped searching for T'Pol a little after they found the children. The sight of them had shaken the chief engineer into a state of pure silence. Captain Archer also sat quietly except for a few mumbles or grunts he made every once and a while.  
  
"Well," Lieutenant replied, "Since I still have a job to take care of, I need to get Captain Archer and Commander Tucker to our main camp-"  
  
"We need to get back to my ship." Archer said faintly.  
  
Lieutenant made a sad smile. "With all do respect, the only way I could get you back to your ship was to get you back to your shuttle. And who knows what Colonel Schneider's done with it."  
  
Archer's brow furrowed. "Don't you have any communicators we can use so I can contact my ship?"  
  
Lieutenant grunted. "Nothing modern enough."  
  
"You mean to tell me there isn't one solitary piece of advanced technology on this planet?"  
  
Lieutenant shook his head. "Everything was destroyed when the Nazis decided to 'change' things."  
  
"That sucks." Trip said numbly.  
  
Archer raised an eyebrow. "Thanks for the input, Trip."  
  
"Any time" was the engineer's lethargic answer.  
  
"Anyway," Lieutenant said, "I need to get you and Mr. Tucker to our main camp to figure out what to do with you. I've got bosses like everybody else, Captain."  
  
Archer nodded in understanding. "When do we set off for the camp?"  
  
"As soon as possible would be nice."  
  
Archer glanced over at Trip. Trip made a face that said, "I don't care."  
  
Archer sighed and rubbed his temple. "I-"  
  
Lieutenant's brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"  
  
The captain bit his lip. "It's just-something doesn't feel right about leaving."  
  
Trip glanced up. "You got that feeling too?"  
  
Archer nodded. "It's like, we're still supposed to do something, or find someone. I know it seems, impossible, but I have this feeling that T'Pol's still alive."  
  
Lieutenant threw his arms up and sat down on a log. "I knew this would happen," He mumbled to himself, "Captain, T'Pol was staying at this camp, she was recovering. And something tells me she's smart enough not to go anywhere or stage a rescue mission without somebody else's help." Lieutenant crossed his arms. "And everyone here has orders. They wouldn't let her leave."  
  
Archer shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I can't ignore this feeling." Archer peered out into the jungle. "She's out there somewhere. And I'm going to find her."  
  
* * *  
  
"Everyone set their phase pistols to stun?" Reed asked.  
  
Hoshi and Travis both nodded.  
  
"Doctor?"  
  
The Denobulan sighed as he stared down at the weapon in his hand. "I'm a doctor, Mr. Reed. Not a soldier."  
  
"Doctor, we need you to be able to protect yourself. I'd like to have our physician *alive* to treat our officers."  
  
Phlox raised an eyebrow. "Hm, well, I suppose so. Setting the phaser to stun." Phlox then put his phaser back in the holster.  
  
Reed made eye contact with each member of his team. "All right, then." Reed took some phase rifles from a container and set them to stun as well.  
  
Dr. Phlox eyed the armory officer curiously. "Are we sure that we need this much-artillery?"  
  
Reed frowned. "I like my phase pistols as much as the next person, but the phase rifles are a must."  
  
"I must say, Lieutenant, I neglect to see why you have such a strong passion for something that only causes destruction."  
  
Travis chuckled softly.  
  
"You have something to add, Ensign?" Reed said, somewhat sarcastically.  
  
Travis straightened and clamped his mouth shut. "No, sir."  
  
"We really should be going." Hoshi piped in.  
  
"Right. Now, remember," Reed said, "whatever happens down there, our main and only goal is to retrieve the captain, Mr. Tucker, and T'Pol." The team nodded.  
  
Reed turned towards the shuttle and mumbled under his breath, "And pray that they're still alive."  
  
* * *  
  
"You know, T'Pol," Ja'an said, following close behind, "I knew that you had guts, and-and that you'd pretty much do anything logical for a worthy cause. But this?! This is just ridiculous!"  
  
"I would not be doing this unless I knew that it was a logical plan. And it is. Watch out for the log." It was too late; the man stumbled a little but regained his balance.  
  
"Thanks," He mumbled, "but I just don't see why this is so important. Why can't we walk?"  
  
"That would take too long and we don't have enough food or equipment sufficient for such an excursion."  
  
"So we're going to steal?"  
  
"We're not stealing. We are simply gaining resources by unlawful means."  
  
"Therefore, stealing."  
  
"You are mistaken. Stealing is merely 'taking for the taking.' We are taking because we need those few items more than the Nazi's do."  
  
"I think officer uniforms, food, and a truck is a bit more than just a 'few items.' "  
  
"You need to be more positive. At the moment, you are being very pessimistic."  
  
Ja'an scoffed. "Pessimistic?! For your information, T'Pol, my family, friends, and colleagues are dead! I think I have a right to be a little pessimistic!"  
  
T'Pol stopped walking and faced her friend. "I meant no insult, Ja'an."  
  
The surgeon huffed angrily. "Yeah, I know."  
  
T'Pol put her hands behind her back. "Ja'an, your pain is understandable. You've suffered a great loss. But I need your mentality to be optimistic. I don't believe I can get through this mission without your help."  
  
T'Pol stepped closer. "Ja'an, I need to know. Can I depend on you to help me?"  
  
Ja'an swallowed. "Yeah. I'll be fine."  
  
T'Pol stiffened and she straightened her spine. "Thank you."  
  
Ja'an sighed and looked into his pack. He started to dig through it. "There's got to be something in here to eat-hey, look at this!" Ja'an grabbed something from his pack and held it up.  
  
"The walkie-talkie you were working on!" He exclaimed.  
  
T'Pol grabbed the device and sat down on a log. "I believe I may had fixed it before we left. Do you think you can contact the main camp?"  
  
Ja'an shrugged. "Maybe, lemme see it." Ja'an took the communicator and turned a dial a few times. "I think they go by this frequency. Say a prayer. If this works, we could have fighter planes and military backing us up." Ja'an bit his lip and pushed the button.  
  
"This is Dr. Ja'an of camp 26. Camp 26 has been destroyed, I repeat, camp 26 has been destroyed. Two survivors. We are heading to concentration camp 2. Bring backup, over."  
  
Ja'an listened to the static a bit and then repeated the message. They heard a couple of breaks in the static, but nothing else. Ja'an sighed and put the communicator away.  
  
"They may have gotten the message. Now all have to do is continue on our way and hope this thing worked."  
  
* * *  
  
"What the bloody hell is that place?" Reed was hovering over Travis's right shoulder and Hoshi was hovering over the other. Dr. Phlox was sitting in his seat reading from a PADD.  
  
"It's huge!" Travis stated.  
  
Hoshi pointed at the barbed wire fence. "Looks hostile." Hoshi said.  
  
"Hm," Reed grumbled, "they probably have very primitive weaponry as well. I'd like to see that."  
  
"Remember the mission, Lieutenant." Hoshi said with a smirk.  
  
"Right. Travis, find a safe-deserted-place to land the shuttle. Once we've done that, I want you, Hoshi to try and contact that building. It's the closest thing to where the other pod had landed."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
* * *  
  
"Keep low, Ja'an."  
  
"I'll stay as low as you need me to."  
  
T'Pol peered through the gate at the square. Two guards were at the watchtower talking frantically to another officer.  
  
"Describe him." The officer said.  
  
"He was tall," one of the guards exclaimed, "Probably six feet. Around 380 Kilos. Skinny fellow. Had a standard SS uniform on. We thought he was one of us. Gave us some ale. We were out in seconds flat."  
  
"You didn't recognize him, at all?"  
  
"Well, it was dark."  
  
"It was very dark." The other said.  
  
"So let me get this straight," The officer said, "you drank some ale, that eventually knocked you out, given to you from an unknown officer in the middle of the night," he paused, "on duty."  
  
"It was cold." The guard declared.  
  
The other guard nodded. "It was very cold."  
  
The officer, shaking his head, jot down the information on a notepad. "I've got to say, gentlemen, this is pretty pathetic. But, thank you for your help. It may help us find the escaped unit."  
  
T'Pol felt her stomach do a flip-flop. So, Archer's entire unit had come along. But, who was this "unknown officer?"  
  
The officer thanked the guards again and stuck his notepad in his coat pocket. After the officer left the premises, the two guards started to chat.  
  
"What kind of description was that?" One of them said.  
  
"What? I described him the best I could!"  
  
"How about the fact that he had perfectly white teeth, or-or that he had blond hair or that-"  
  
"Hey-hey, I only described what I remembered."  
  
"Well, your memory must be shot because-"  
  
"Don't you accuse me of that, you-you brainless scum!"  
  
"Oh, that's original!"  
  
This banter went on for several minutes until T'Pol was entirely convinced of these men's stupidity.  
  
"I believe we can easily deceive those two guards." T'Pol said.  
  
"Hmph-good." T'Pol turned around and saw Ja'an happily eating away at a piece of fruit he'd picked from the tree branch hanging over their heads.  
  
T'Pol cocked an eyebrow. "I'm glad to see you're paying so much attention."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Come this way."  
  
* * *  
  
"This is unbelievable, Lieutenant. I can't get through to the compound."  
  
"Not even audio only?"  
  
Hoshi shook her head. "Nothing. I can't believe how primitive everything is."  
  
Reed sighed with disgust. "Well, can you isolate any Human or Vulcan life signs?" Reed asked impatiently.  
  
"Give me a second, sir." Hoshi replied. "No-wait." Hoshi squinted at the console in front of her and then started to point excitedly. "I think I found T'Pol!"  
  
Reed pat Hoshi on the shoulder. "Good going, Hoshi. Travis, Doctor, let's get her."  
  
Hoshi quickly looked up from her console. "Wait, what about me?! You promised to let me go on this mission!"  
  
"And you're on it, aren't you? Hoshi, someone has to stay here and guard the pod. I think the best choice would be you."  
  
Hoshi opened her mouth to protest, but Malcolm stopped her. "It's for the best, Hoshi. Now, please, stay here."  
  
Hoshi clenched her teeth, but didn't say anything.  
  
"Right then people, let's go. Hoshi, watch the pod."  
  
The ensign grunted a "yes sir."  
  
* * *  
  
"I never liked jungles. Too many bugs. And poison ivy. Got to watch out for them poisonous frogs too." Reed shook his head and he brushed away a beetle from his sleeve.  
  
"Poisonous frogs?" Phlox said uncertainly.  
  
"Yes. Some, they're poisonous at the touch. Some frogs even have a certain defense mechanism that allows them to spit blood from their eyeballs." Reed put a hand to his phase pistol.  
  
"Ew." Travis said.  
  
"Really?" Phlox cocked his head sideways, "That's fascinating. I wouldn't mind studying one of those."  
  
Reed held out his scanner and moved it back and forth. "There you are." Reed said, "She's this way. But she's moving quickly. Let's go."  
  
* * *  
  
"I can't believe you did that." Ja'an shook his head as he buttoned the guard jacket on.  
  
T'Pol finished getting ready by putting her black, knee-high boots on. "I did what was necessary in order to obtain the uniforms. Though, I must say, it was somewhat.unsettling."  
  
Ja'an tossed the rifle strap over his shoulder. "Unsettling? You came onto those guards like a-"  
  
"I know what I did, Ja'an. But it was also crucial so I could get close enough to give them the Vulcan pinch. It was successful, wasn't it?" T'Pol stood, waiting for the surgeon's answer. Ja'an bit his lip and started to say something, but stopped himself.  
  
"Yeah, I guess it was."  
  
  
  
"Now, you stay outside the watchtower and I'll get the supplies and the truck."  
  
Ja'an cleared his throat. "And just how do you plan on persuading those guards to let you do that," Ja'an chuckled, "I mean, don't you think seeing some mundane guard driving a truck out of-"  
  
T'Pol stuck her chin up. "I plan to try and stay out of sight. These uniforms are for insurance purposes, Ja'an. If I get caught in the act, the uniform will allow me some excuse until I can create an alibi." T'Pol thought for a moment, "but, I'm hoping it will not come to that."  
  
Ja'an looked at the Vulcan with wonder. This woman had gone through so much: hard labor, starvation, torture, a rather close brush with death, and grief. Yet she remained strong in every way. Willing to risk her life for others. Fight for others. T'Pol had said she wasn't an emotional person, but she didn't realize how truly wrong she was. From Ja'an's understanding of Vulcans, as diminutive as it was, led him to believe that these pointy- eared aliens did things that only meant well for themselves. In other words- selfish. But, apparently, this Vulcan was different. She cared about others, indirectly of course. She'd voluntarily looked after a young girl she'd known for only a couple of hours. Risked her life for her. This remarkable woman had also, despite her injuries, went on a trek through the perilous jungle, *back* to the very place she had narrowly escaped from.  
  
Ja'an decided then that he would never let T'Pol down.  
  
Ever.  
  
* * *  
  
"Looks like, one guard at the watchtower door," Reed whispered while peering through brush, "One up top. Shouldn't be too difficult to take them out."  
  
Travis looked at the square. "Where's T'Pol? I thought you said she was right there."  
  
"She was. A few minutes ago. There was someone else with her too. Probably that guard." Reed looked at his scanner. "Wait, there are two others behind the watchtower. Very weak life signs."  
  
Travis took his phase pistol out. "We need to get into that compound. And from the looks of it," Travis pointed at the gate, "that's the only entrance and exit."  
  
* * *  
  
Commander Lee handed the document to the Colonel.  
  
"Here's the report on the spy. Apparently, he drugged our watchtower guards to get the unit out."  
  
Schneider grunted as he looked the document over. "Not a very good description of the perpetrator."  
  
Lee nodded in concurrence. "I believe we should replace the guards with more.competent officers."  
  
Schneider tapped his fingers on the desk and gazed over at the woman in the photograph. The Colonel sighed, staring at her beautiful, mysterious smile. All of it was for her. Everything he did. Every decision. It was meant for her. And whenever he wasn't sure of a decision, he'd just look into those eyes, twinkling back at him through that single, black and white photograph, and he'd know what to do. That photo was the only thing he had left of his past. The last thin string of his early existence.  
  
Colonel Schneider tore away his gaze from his wife. Whenever he saw her face, he usually saw happiness. But, sometimes, her expression made him feel awkward, like he wasn't supposed to be doing this. It was almost like she was angry with him. But-but it was all for her! How could she refuse! Still, she seemed to be telling him to stop. To let it go. To let everything be as it was. But he couldn't just give up. Not now. Not when they were so close to ridding the world of the weak and the ignorant. But then what would he do? The war would end. There would be nothing left to conquer. He would be alone once again. Alone in all his riches and power.  
  
That wouldn't be too much fun after a while.  
  
* * *  
  
Hoshi lazily leaned back in her seat. This wasn't an away mission. Not for her, anyway. Sitting in a shuttle pod staring out the window watching some sort of small monkey-like creatures eating bugs wasn't her idea of an away mission. Hoshi huffed in anger. In fact, in the ensign's current condition, she almost missed the blips on her console of the two human life signs a few miles away. Hoshi jumped up in excitement.  
  
"Oh, my God! I found them!" Hoshi did more scans and caught the signature of one of their communicators, a few meters away from the blips on the screen.  
  
* * *  
  
Loupa stopped in his tracks. "Did you hear that?"  
  
Barik perked up and looked in all directions. The rest of the party did the same.  
  
"It sounds like a kind of chirping." Barik noted.  
  
Trip and Archer looked at each other quickly. "The communicator!" They both said excitedly.  
  
"Everyone start lookin' for it," Trip said, "It sounds close!"  
  
The entire party fanned out and frantically searched for the little device.  
  
"It sounds closer over here!" Loupa exclaimed. Loupa pushed away some tall grass and yipped in excitement as he grabbed the mechanism. "I found it! Over here!"  
  
Archer hurriedly ran over to the boy, grabbed the communicator, and flipped it open.  
  
"This is Archer!"  
  
* * *  
  
"So, what, do we just knock and say, 'could you let us in?' " Travis said.  
  
Lt. Reed shrugged. "What else can we do? We won't have much of an element of surprise, seeing that this is a gate, not doorway."  
  
"Mr. Reed," Phlox interrupted, "this is a war planet, people don't just come running up to a concentration camp asking to be let in-"  
  
Malcolm and Travis turned to the Doctor-smirking.  
  
~~~~~A Few Minutes Later~~~~~  
  
"Uh, excuse me? Sir?" Travis waved from the gate at the guard standing at the door to the watchtower. The man looked quite nervous and his hands twitched. He seemed unsure whether he should speak to the pilot.  
  
"Wha-what do you want?" The guard asked timidly.  
  
Travis contained a smile seeing that this man could be easily apprehended. "Um, I'm sorry to bother you, but my hunting party and I have gotten lost. So, do you mind letting us in and giving us some directions? We won't cause any trouble."  
  
The guard squinted at Travis a moment. Staring at his clothes and then at his face again. Suddenly the guard gave a small yelp and ran to the gate.  
  
"You're humans! You-you belong to that ship, Enterprise!" Travis stared at the man in disbelief.  
  
"How the hell could you know that?" Reed and the Doctor came up from behind Travis and eyed the man curiously.  
  
The guard moved his mouth, but nothing came out. He closed his eyes a moment and then tried to speak again, but only stuttered.  
  
"You-you-I mean, I have your-your." The guard snapped his fingers trying to remember something. "T'Pol!" He suddenly exclaimed.  
  
Travis, Malcolm and Phlox all felt their mouths drop open. Malcolm stepped beside Travis immediately.  
  
"You know, T'Pol?"  
  
The man smiled, grateful that he got these people to understand. "Yes," The man whispered, "I'm not actually a guard. My name is Ja'an. I'm a surgeon. I-I'm undercover-sort of. T'Pol is inside the camp disguised at a guard. She's trying to get a truck, some food and other stuff."  
  
Malcolm was about to respond when his communicator chirped. He unzipped his breast pocket and took the device out.  
  
"Reed here."  
  
"Malcolm, it's Hoshi. I found the captain and Trip. They're on their way to the shuttle."  
  
"Excellent, Hoshi. We've just got to get T'Pol out of here. We've made a friend along the way that may be able to help us."  
  
"Acknowledged. Captain Archer said he and Trip were pretty beat up. Could you get the Doctor back here?"  
  
The Denobulan nodded. "Yes, Hoshi. He'll be there in a few minutes. Reed out." Malcolm put the communicator away and faced Phlox and Mayweather.  
  
"Travis, escort the Doctor back to the shuttle-"  
  
"Malcolm, you shouldn't go in there alone-"  
  
"I'll be fine, Ensign. I'd rather risk two lives instead of three."  
  
Travis nodded and turned around to lead the way back to the shuttle.  
  
* * *  
  
T'Pol stood rigidly trying to think up an alibi for her actions. The officer in front of her pointed the gun at her head, yelling out questions. Of course, T'Pol had no idea what he was saying, or how to explain why she had the packs of food in her hands or why she had one foot on the step of the truck. So, instead, T'Pol figured she could throw the food at the officer, which would give her enough time to pinch him in the neck.  
  
The officer shouted out more demands. T'Pol carried out her plan by throwing all the food at the officer. He was caught by surprise and T'Pol gave him the pinch. The man crumbled to the floor. T'Pol sighed and glanced around and listened for any footsteps to make sure no one had heard her or the officer.  
  
There was silence. Good.  
  
T'Pol quickly gathered the food and stepped up into the truck and into the driver's seat. Now, if only she could figure out a way to get this bucket to work and drive it out of the garage. T'Pol hadn't thought of that. The Vulcan stared down at the controls in front of her. There was a large wheel with different levers protruding from it. All right, that's interesting; the wheel must have to be used for steering the truck. T'Pol felt something below her feet. More clunky levers. Great. Okay, there are some dials over there. T'Pol twisted them around. Nothing.  
  
You had to turn the truck on first. But, how to do that? T'Pol looked around a bit and found a little hole with a metal piece stuck in it. T'Pol put a hand on it, and turned it.  
  
The automobile came to life and it's engines vibrated. At first, T'Pol had thought she set the vehicle on self-destruct mode, but she quickly came to realize that she'd only turned it on. The Vulcan was satisfied with her first move. T'Pol tried the little dials again, and an annoyingly loud voice boomed from it. T'Pol instantly turned the dial again and the noise stopped.  
  
T'Pol remembered the levers by her feet. She put her foot on the long pedal on the right. The vehicle lurched backward. T'Pol took her foot off the pedal and the truck slowed. T'Pol tried the other pedal. The truck stopped moving instantly. The Vulcan sighed. Why did humans always make things so difficult?  
  
T'Pol looked around at a lever by her feet. There were a few letters on it. She moved the lever back and then tried the gas pedal again, slowly. The truck crawled forward a bit. Relieved, T'Pol fiddled with a few other levers and accidentally leaned on the steering wheel causing it to make a loud obnoxious noise that made the usually composed Vulcan jump in her seat.  
  
* * *  
  
"T'Pol has got to be at the garage by now. We should go there." Ja'an said.  
  
Reed rubbed his temple. "Yes, but just how do you expect to get me there without a little suspicion from the other officers?"  
  
Ja'an scratched his head. "You could be my prisoner?"  
  
Reed scoffed. "Oh, please, that's the oldest one in the book."  
  
Ja'an's brow furrowed. "What book? Are there rules for this sort of thing?"  
  
Reed smirked. "Or it could be the newest trend. Let's try that. Here, take my weapon-don't touch that. Right, just, keep it there. That's good." Reed ruffed his hair up a bit. "Now," he said, "hit me."  
  
Ja'an looked up in surprise. "What? Oh, no, no, no, no, no, I couldn't. Wha- why would you want me to do that?"  
  
Reed rolled his eyes. "So I look a bit beat up. How could I be a prisoner if I'm spick and span?"  
  
Ja'an widened his eyes. "Spick and what?  
  
"Just-punch me! Hard!"  
  
Ja'an bit his lip. "Um, okay. Here it goes." Ja'an brought his fist back and stopped. "Wait, where do I hit you?"  
  
"Anywhere, hit me for bloody sake-" The blast to his face made the Brit stagger back into the fence. The vision around him darkened a little but then cleared. Reed then felt an overwhelming throbbing from his left eye. Ja'an's startled face suddenly filled Malcolm's field of vision.  
  
"Are you all right, Mr. Reed?" Ja'an said, his voice panicky. Reed wondered how T'Pol was ever able to tolerate this man.  
  
Reed shoved the man away from him. Reed then pointed at his eye. "Does it look bad?"  
  
Ja'an swallowed and concurred. "It definitely looks like I hit ya."  
  
Reed straightened his spine and nodded quickly. "That's good. Now, tie my hands behind my back and escort me to the garage. Remember to push and shove me as well. We got to make it look as real as possible."  
  
Ja'an nervously looked down at his feet. "I, uh, don't exactly know where the garage is."  
  
* * *  
  
After a few minutes of driving around the large garage, T'Pol got a feel for what she was doing. She then drove the truck up and out of the large doorway onto a dirt road. There was a gate, and T'Pol recognized it as the "prisoner entrance" as she'd heard it called. Perhaps of she continued on this road, it would circle to the main entrance, where Ja'an was.  
  
So, T'Pol continued down the roadway, taking in the sites she never saw when she was last here.  
  
* * *  
  
Reed grabbed the phase pistol from Ja'an. "Are you telling me you just hit me for nothing?!" Reed tried to restrain his voice from getting too loud, but couldn't help himself at times.  
  
Ja'an cowered to the corner of the fence. "I thought you knew where the garage was!"  
  
"How the bloody hell would I know?!"  
  
"I dunno, I just assumed!"  
  
Reed buried his head into his hands. How could he be dealing with such an imbecile?  
  
Reed was about to say more when he heard a voice coming from the other side of the watchtower. Ja'an's eyes got big and he whimpered. Reed ran over to the Ja'an.  
  
"Get rid of him."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"You have an army uniform on."  
  
Ja'an looked down, as if to make sure the Lieutenant's information was correct. Ja'an groaned, and inched his way to the front of the watchtower. Reed backed against the wall and held his phaser up, just in case things got bad. Reed listened to the conversation. The mystery man on the other side was harsh and barked out questions. Reed could here Ja'an's weak response.  
  
There was a pause in the conversation. Then, Reed heard a click and Ja'an gasp. That couldn't be good. Reed risked it and ran out into the front of the watchtower. Once there, Reed saw a primitive weapon pointed at Ja'an head. Ja'an looked like he was about to cry. The man with the weapon was wearing a black uniform. He was older, in his forties. The man didn't see Reed. The Lieutenant hadn't said anything. And, apparently, this man had really bad peripheral vision. Reed was right *there*, phase pistol pointed. Reed figured he could take out the guy right away, if only Ja'an hadn't glanced over at Malcolm.  
  
The man was fast, a shot rang out and Reed suddenly felt excruciating pain from his side. Reed fell to the ground and howled in pain. The man walked over to Reed and glared down at him, grinning evilly. The man raised the gun and pointed it at Malcolm's head. Reed closed his eyes, ready for what was sure to come. But, Reed only heard a growl. A shot fired, and a body fell onto him. Reed looked quickly and saw the old man's face staring at his-eye's wide. Reed slid away and glimpsed up to see who his rescuer was. Ja'an stood there the gun still pointed at the man. His face was twisted into an angry glare. Small tears formed around Ja'an's eyes.  
  
"That was for my family and my friends," Ja'an choked out, " you-you Nazi bastard."  
  
Ja'an put the gun away slowly and put his hand out to Reed. Malcolm smiled. The man had somehow under a minute found courage. Ja'an helped Malcolm up, still staring at the fallen Nazi.  
  
"Colonel Schneider!" Reed heard a woman's voice and glanced around to see an oriental woman rushing to the Colonel's side. She didn't give a second thought to Malcolm or Ja'an.  
  
The woman put two fingers to the Colonel's temple for a moment. The woman then slowly lifted her gaze to the two men before her. Ja'an smiled, waved at the woman and lifted his gun.  
  
"Hi, Commander Lee," Ja'an cocked the gun, "Don't try anything stupid, now. I've figured out how to work these things since the last time we met."  
  
This Commander Lee snarled and kicked the weapon out of Ja'an's hands. Ja'an stared in shock at his empty hands. Reed, on instinct reached for his phase pistol. It wasn't there. Malcolm looked around and spotted his weapon by the watchtower door. It obviously had flung out of his hands when he was shot.  
  
Lee took out a revolver and a ka-bar knife and pointed them at the two men.  
  
"You have no idea what you've done. Now, you will pay for it."  
  
Lee cocked the gun and spun the knife in her hand, ready to attack.  
  
Then, there was a rumbling in the distance. Lee looked up and saw the tips of the trees beyond the road tousling violently and a flock of birds flew away. The rumbling grew nearer to the gate entrance. Lee's first thought was that it was a pa'lapus, but they make a high screeching sound when attacking. No, this came from a machine. It came from-  
  
"A truck?" Reed said aloud.  
  
The large automobile crashed through the gate just missing Reed and Ja'an. But it had hit its target. And the target lied motionless on the ground. Reed and Ja'an stared in disbelief at the truck standing five inches from their noses. Ja'an grew weak in the knees and he half tumbled to the ground. Reed stared at the door, waiting to see their rescuer. The door opened to the reveal the still ever-calm Vulcan who had a satisfied gaze in her dark eyes.  
  
"Mr. Reed, it's a pleasure to see you."  
  
By now, the entire camp had been alerted and guards and officers were running to the scene. "I think that's our cue to leave." Reed said.  
  
Malcolm, T'Pol and Ja'an started to run when a small, military jet flew over the camp.  
  
Ja'an pointed excitedly. "T'Pol! Look! They got the message!" Suddenly, a massive group of Karthanian military soldiers swarmed from the jungle and into the camp. The Nazi guards and officers stared incredulously and dropped their weapons as the soldiers gathered the pathetic men.  
  
* * *  
  
"Oh, my God, T'POL!" The Vulcan cocked an eyebrow as her two fellow officers embraced her when she climbed into the shuttle.  
  
"Captain, Commander, please restrain yourselves." They let go of her but not before T'Pol slightly returned the embrace. The Vulcan had to admit it; she was quite relieved to see the men alive and well.  
  
"T'Pol, we-we thought-no, we *knew* you were dead! How did you-?"  
  
Archer and Tucker were at a loss for words, and frankly so was this Vulcan. She'd learned something about emotion over the past few days. She'd come in close contact with it. So close, she could almost feel the tears that threatened her this very moment, but she kept it back. Kept it all hidden as she always had. But, that never meant she would always hide it. She'd proven Surak wrong. She'd proven that Vulcan's certainly could be emotional people.  
  
* * *  
  
T'Pol gazed at the candle before her. She'd forgotten how peaceful and comforting the single flame could be. While on the war planet, her meditations consisted of short prayers, certainly not all she should have had, but it was enough. Now, she was back in her comfortable meditation robes, in her warm quarters, with a cup of hot green tea sitting next to her. No small whimpers, no bugs, and no screams in the middle of the night.  
  
She almost felt selfish. T'Pol was about to blow out the candle when her door chimed.  
  
"Come."  
  
The door swooshed open and Captain Archer walked in. It seemed like the captain aged about five years, but T'Pol knew it was only the lingering pain of their ordeal.  
  
"Am I interrupting?"  
  
"Not at all. Please." T'Pol put out her hand, offering the cushion across from her.  
  
"Thanks." Archer said and he sat down. T'Pol waited patiently for him to speak.  
  
"Since what happened to Schneider and Lee, a lot of other concentration camps are surrendering. People are being set free."  
  
"That is very good." T'Pol replied.  
  
Archer chuckled softly. "Yeah, it certainly is. Um, Barik, amazingly, found his wife in all the mess, and they've decided to adopt Loupa. Your friend, Ja'an, was given an award for his braveries and, apparently is being given a whole new respect," T'Pol suppressed a smile, "and a ceremony is being held for the loss of camp 26." Archer glanced at the candle, and then looked back up at his science officer.  
  
"You know, T'Pol, the Karthanian military had been planning on attacking the concentration camp for a while. But they weren't going to attack for another week. It's a good thing your message got through. You guys were lucky."  
  
T'Pol almost corrected him by saying that Vulcans did not believe in luck, but stopped herself. "All very good news, Captain. Thank you for delivering it."  
  
Archer stared into T'Pol's eyes. The Vulcan could tell there was something else on his mind.  
  
"T'Pol, there's something else on my mind," T'Pol inwardly congratulated herself.  
  
The captain sighed. "I thought I almost lost you down there."  
  
T'Pol turned her gaze to the small flame. "I believed that I had 'lost' you as well."  
  
Archer regarded her a moment. "T'Pol, being down there amidst all that- death, it's made me rethink my values. And," Archer chuckled, "I definitely think I'm going to start listening to your advice more often." T'Pol figured if she were human, she would've chuckled, but instead, she nodded coolly.  
  
Archer nodded too. "Well, I guess that's it. You and Trip are on leave for the next few days."  
  
T'Pol was about to argue, but she chose not to. "Thank you, Captain."  
  
Archer exhaled and stood to leave, T'Pol also stood. They both locked gazes for a moment, then Archer spoke. "Live long and prosper, Sub-Commander."  
  
"Live long and prosper."  
  
The Captain left and T'Pol sat down and stared at the candle again. She'd always known that Archer cared for her, but T'Pol would never forget the tears that welled in his eyes when he saw her, alive. They'd all been through so much; a happy ending was just what they needed.  
  
T'Pol blew out the candle and went over to her bed. The Vulcan got under the covers and pulled them close. But, before she slipped into a dreamless slumber, T'Pol considered a most peculiar deliberation. If Vulcans tried hard enough, perhaps, just once, they could cry.  
  
  
  
~The End~  
  
  
  
  
  
~Epilogue~  
  
Mrs. Olivia Schneider looked down at the photograph of her husband on the desk. He had a proud, prideful smile curving his features. She hated that smile.  
  
Olivia had heard rumors that some captain of some glorious starship had helped liberate the prisoners on Karthania. Olivia was glad. She'd been burdened by the thought of her husband doing all that damage-for her. It was daunting. But, then, he had no idea that she was still alive, or that she'd had better plans in store for him. But, perhaps the rumors were true, and that her husband had been overthrown along with that wench, Commander Lee. Olivia couldn't help but being mad, though. She'd wanted to take care of Schneider herself. In fact, it infuriated her. Perhaps she would get back at that starship captain. Make him suffer for doing something she wanted to finish herself.  
  
"Miss Schneider, you are stressed. Repress the emotion. Return to your studies."  
  
Olivia regarded the Vulcan elder, and glanced over at the window, staring at the barren and desert terrain. Olivia then returned her attention to the book in front of her. Yes, she would have her revenge. Her sweet revenge. But until then, she had to return to her studies.  
  
~END~  
  
Well, that's it! Please tell me what you think! But, be gentle, I'm very happy I finally completed this, and I don't like getting yelled at!!! 


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